Held on August 19–20 at the National Incubation Center, Islamabad, the SDG Hackathon 2017 marked a historic moment as Pakistan’s first civic hackathon focused entirely on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The two-day event was organized by Ignite – National Technology Fund, the Ministry of IT & Telecom, and Code for Pakistan, in collaboration with international partners including the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Internet Society (ISOC).

The hackathon brought together over 100 participants including technologists, designers, urban planners, community organizers, researchers, journalists, and government representatives to develop open-source digital solutions aimed at eight key SDGs:

• No Poverty
• Zero Hunger
• Good Health and Well-Being
• Quality Education
• Decent Work and Economic Growth
• Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
• Sustainable Cities and Communities
• Responsible Consumption and Production

A Convergence of Civic Tech and Social Innovation

The event aimed to bridge the innovation gap between Pakistan’s public and private sectors by empowering citizens to address pressing development challenges through technology. Mentors from the tech, design, and social impact fields supported teams throughout the weekend as they rapidly prototyped digital tools to address civic issues aligned with the SDGs.

“Our hackathons bring together technologists and community members to spark civic engagement. Many of the ideas developed here go on to pre-acceleration and real-world impact,” said Asim Ghaffar, President of Code for Pakistan.

Recognition for Promising Solutions

After two days of collaboration, teams pitched their projects to a panel of expert judges:

• Ather Imran (OPEN Islamabad / Sybrid)
• Kalsoom Lakhani (Invest2Innovate)
• Syed Ahmad Masud (Channel 7)
• Maryam Mohiyuddin (Social Innovation Lab)
• Owais Zaidi (CreditFix)

Winning Teams:

• 🥇 25A – A platform promoting educational equality by connecting underprivileged students to private schools in line with Article 25A.
• 🥈 SHELTIC – An NGO using recycled plastic waste to build low-cost, sustainable shelters.
• 🥉 LEXY – An assistive platform for early dyslexia detection using audio-visual tools.
• 🎖️ Ibaad.org – A donor-beneficiary matching platform (4th prize, sponsored by Bentley Systems).
• 🏅 Educating with Games – Audience favorite, raising awareness on child labor (sponsored by Code for Pakistan).

SDG Challenge Cup: Connecting Startups to Global Platforms

Held alongside the hackathon, the SDG Challenge Cup featured pitches from early-stage startups working on:

• Good Health and Well-Being
• Quality Education
• Gender Equality
• Decent Work and Economic Growth

Winning teams earned the opportunity to represent Pakistan at ITU Telecom World 2017 and the Young ICT Leaders’ Forum. Judges included:

• Parvez Abbasi (NIC)
• Owais Anjum (eMumba)
• Wisit Atipayakoon (ITU)
• Sadaf Mahmood (SEED Ventures)
• Beenisch Tahir (UNDP Pakistan)

Challenge Cup Winners:

• 🥇 Orbit
• 🥈 Skills Force
• 🥉 Exam Bites
• 🏅 Multibiz Services (Special prize by NIC)

“The PTA aims to enable the right tech environment for innovation to thrive—including civic innovation aligned with the SDGs,” said Dr. Ismail Shah, Chairman of PTA.

Supported by a Network of Partners

The SDG Weekend was made possible through the support of Zong Pakistan, Jazz, Nayatel, Bentley Systems, ISOC, ITU, UNDP Pakistan, TechMag, Global Shapers Islamabad, and others.