3rd BuiltByHer Hackathon Develops Climate Resilience Solutions

• BuiltByHer is a 48-hour hackathon.
• Teams lead by women tackle the most urgent problems facing society.
• More than 130 teams submitted proposals for the third round of the competition.

The top eleven teams competed in a competitive grand finale at the National Incubation Center (NIC) Karachi, which hosted the event in conjunction with The Asia Foundation.

BuiltByHer is a 48-hour hackathon where teams lead by women are expected to tackle the most urgent problems facing society.

More than 130 teams submitted proposals for the third round of the competition, which was only dedicated to the topic of climate change. Recently, a three-day hackathon was held, and eleven teams were chosen to pitch in the final round.

The judges selected Bhaan, led by Nayab Raza, and She-Guard, led by Mehreen Raza, as the winners of the third BuiltByHer Hackathon after carefully examining and evaluating the ideas.

A seed payment of PKR 850,000 will be given to the winners so they can develop and scale their solutions.

She-Guard is a biodegradable, environmentally responsible, and herbally scented sanitary napkin that has the potential to address significant health, environmental, and solid waste challenges.

BHAAN is creating freshwater microalgae-based eco-friendly bio-fertilizers that have the ability to address energy shortages, climate change, and food poverty.

BuiltByHer 3.0 is yet another fruitful partnership between NIC Karachi and the Asia Foundation, according to Farva Minhas, program coordinator at The Asia Foundation. Young women all throughout the country have been given more power because to our collaborative efforts.

In addition to the hackathon, she continued, “we are working with NICK to launch ‘Impact Collective,’ a program that will foster research-based discussion among academics and policymakers about how to use ESG frameworks to strengthen Pakistan’s resilience to climate change.

In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, BuiltByHer was established in 2020 to find STEM-based remedies that would empower Pakistani women.

The third BuiltByHer focused primarily on addressing climate change-related concerns, a timely project given the impact climate change has had on the country. The second BuiltByHer hackathon was focused on STEM and climate change-based topics.

The hackathon has produced a sizable group of female mentors, coaches, and hackers over the past three years who are always working to improve gender equity in the Pakistani educational and technological ecosystem.

Numerous female entrepreneurs, inventors, and change-makers who wished to start their own businesses with the intention of having a beneficial impact on their communities have benefited from the hackathon.

“Pakistan is going through one of the toughest times in its history, the country is facing devastating floods, and we can’t rely on conventional approaches to address this problem,” stated Sana Shah, Program Manager NIC Karachi.

Hundreds of climate change activists who will inform their communities and foster climate resilience should result from the third BuiltByHer, she continued.

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