Jenga Haki Lab 2023 (Uganda and Kenya)

The Jenga Haki Lab is a HiiL ideation programme that brings people with different skill sets and interests together and provides them with a specific environment and timeframe to quickly build a solution to a specific problem. Jenga Haki Labs aims to primarily build a prototype of a solution and form a team of co-founders, while strengthening the justice community and building a justice innovation pipeline. The programme also provides an opportunity for participants to learn something new and make headway on problems they are interested in.

HiiL Innovation Hub – East Africa is a social enterprise dedicated to finding and supporting the most promising justice entrepreneurs in East Africa. They seek startups that solve people’s justice problems and aspire for them to have access to justice at work, at home, in their neighbourhoods, and in business.

They support startups that empower people with break-through innovations to create better:

• working conditions with their employer
• separation terms with their spouse
• protection against theft, fraud, and violence
• arrangements about noise, damages, and property access with their neighbour
• housing maintenance and rent conditions with their landlord
• agreements on ownership, registration, and use of land
• contracts, fraud protection, and compliance for their small business.

The Theme for this round of applications is:

• How do you use technology to prevent or resolve crime related problems in Uganda and Kenya.

What do they offer?

• The Jenga Haki Lab programme offers a 5 week long programme that provides the selected teams with:
  • Match with like-minded and talented entrepreneurs to build a solution
  • Training during the residential 2 day Jenga Haki Weekend and subsequent product development sprints. The training will be on;
    • Prototyping
    • Human-centered design or Designing for your User testing
    • Leadership and Project Management
    • Pitching and Presentation
  • Two weeks of product development sprints for the teams to design, develop and test their prototype.
  • Pitch at the Jenga Haki Festival in front of a 3-member Jury and stand a chance to win grant funding of
    • 1000 Euros to the Winner,
    • 750 euros to the 1st runners up
    • 500 euros to the 2nd runners up

Who should apply?

• The programme is suitable for individuals with Innovative solutions/ideas that can address crime related justice problems in Uganda and Kenya including:
  • Financial fraud
  • Theft/armed robberies
  • Home break-ins/burglary
  • Domestic violence
  • Sex-related offences
• Jenga Haki has also been designed to support teams hence all applicants must be willing to be in/form teams of 4-5 members. Members of the team must be above 18 years of age and residents or citizens of Uganda and Kenya at the time of application.
• Jenga Haki looks for individuals that have:
  • Have a background/expertise in:
    • Law/Legal
    • Business knowledge
    • Have a social science background such as sociology, psychology
    • IT or Software development experience.

For more information, visit HiiL Innovation Hub East Africa.