The Digital health Financing hackathon, hosted on July 3rd & 4th at Strathmore University (STMB), was successfully done targeting students from universities and TVET institutes to prototype innovative solutions addressing healthcare financing challenges in Kenya. In collaboration between Strathmore University @iLabAfrica and KeHIA, this event was sponsored by GIZ in using the open source tool OpenIMIS. The event attracted a number of participants of around 79 across 24 teams, however after eliminating a number of teams, the participating teams that attended were 8 amounting to 24 participants who attended and submitted their final prototypes. 

The solutions leveraged technologies ranging from USSD to AI, focusing heavily on OpenIMIS integration and microhealth insurance accessibility. The top teams were awarded internship opportunities and executive mentorships. The event’s main agenda was to highlight a local talent pool capable of building interoperable digital health infrastructures, while also providing clear lessons on managing participant attrition for future events.

Following the successful Hackathon, the second webinar will focus on “From Prototype to Production: Scaling the openIMIS Hackathon Innovations”. The webinar will look into what is required to successfully scale innovations after a hackathon, and how health financing innovations are shaping the future of digital health. Presentations from the winning teams will be showcased to the audience.