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UNYIME - Logo
Inspiration
Our project, UNYIME, was inspired by the need to bridge the gap in collaboration and economic opportunities within West Africa. Existing efforts by various entities towards SDGs in West Africa are often separate and disjointed, unaware of other people working towards the same goals. In like manner, West African locals, especially the youth, are oblivious about these existing entities and opportunities to contribute towards sustainable development in their communities. As a team, we saw the potential for a centralized platform to unite various entities working towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and provide engaging opportunities for youth and communities.
What it does
UNYIME is a web-based platform powered by AI to enhance collaboration among diverse entities and create economic opportunities for users. It allows organizations to share needed contributions such as jobs, internships, volunteering, and even crowdfunding for an initiative. Users can browse and apply for these opportunities based on their interests, engage with various initiatives, and participate in activities that contribute to SDGs. It also connects stakeholders in collaborative efforts towards common goals.
How we built it
Our process involved:
Brainstorming: Using FigJam, we brainstormed various ideas and used a $100 voting system to select interconnected, relevant ideas that required immediate action.
Data Collection: We conducted surveys to gather data, which provided valuable insights and guided our design decisions. This data-driven approach ensured that our solution was tailored to the needs and preferences of our target users.
Development: We are currently in the development phase, focusing on creating a user-friendly interface to support the platform's functionalities.
Challenges we ran into
Working across different time zones posed a coordination challenge. However, since we lived only one hour apart from each other, we managed to overcome this hurdle by scheduling regular meetings and maintaining clear communication.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
Successfully gathering and integrating data from our surveys & secondary research to inform our design decisions is a good achievement. This approach ensured our platform is user-centric and meets the actual needs of our users.
Despite the challenges of working in different time zones and locations, our team's ability to collaborate effectively and maintain a unified vision for the project is commendable.
Creating a platform that not only addresses the disconnect in SDG efforts but also empowers users with economic opportunities is a great step towards sustainable development.
What we learned
Over the course of working together, we have learned some of these lessons
- Not falling in love with the solution but rather the problem, to keep us open-minded on how to approach/tackle it in different ways.
- The importance of data in designing and building solutions that truly address user needs.
- Effective collaboration and communication can help any team overcome a challenge
- The necessity of keeping the end-user in focus throughout the development process to ensure the solution is practical and impactful.
What's next for UNYIME
- Completing the development phase and launching a beta version of the platform for initial testing and feedback.
- Implementing strategies to engage users and gather feedback to continuously improve the platform.
- Expanding the platform's reach to include more organizations and users across West Africa and eventually other regions to maximize its impact on sustainable development efforts.
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