New York , NY (Online Event)

As a follow up to its 2020 Impact Challenge, Ascend Leadership invites technologists near and far to hack together a technological solution to revive small businesses and help them recover from economic loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

THE HACKATHON CHALLENGE
Be inspired by ideas from Ascend’s Impact Challenge business case competition or come up with your own solution that helps build partnerships amongst small businesses, generates new revenue streams, or lowers their expenses.

The winner of this 26-hour social impact hackathon will receive $10,000 and the chance to use Fortune 500 technology company Cognizant’s labs to bring their solution to life!

WHY?
Small businesses are an essential component of every world economy. They provide goods, services and employment to countless millions. With quarantining and social distancing measures in place for over six months now, communities everywhere have seen small business after small business shutter their doors for good. Despite temporary financial support from public and private sources, the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that many small businesses simply cannot survive without transforming their business models. In the United States small businesses provide almost 50% of all private sector jobs, which translates to sharply climbing unemployment as many small businesses are forced to shut down temporarily or close permanently.

Ascend challenges you to use your coding/designing skills and business savvy to help small businesses survive, recover, and thrive again! Your solution can address small businesses in any industry, anywhere in the world; including food/beverage service, accommodations, small-scale construction, and retail small businesses.

WHEN?
This virtual hackathon will take place on TBD, 2021.

TEAMS

• Teams can consist of one to five members.
• Team members can be of any age. Under 18 will require permission form.
• Team members can participate from anywhere in the world.

SUBMISSIONS
Each submission requires:

• Code submission in GitHub
• Project submission in DevPost
• Demo in front of a panel of judges

JUDGING CRITERIA:
Projects will be judged based on the following criteria:

• Impact: How impactful will this solution be for its target audience? Is it scalable?
• Creativity: How original is this solution?
• Design: How well designed is this solution, from back end through to UI/UX?
• Execution: How well executed is this solution from start to finish?

TOOLS, DATA AND IP RIGHTS
Participants are allowed to use any commercially known open source tools. Participants are also encouraged to use their own proprietary solutions to develop creative and efficient products. If you are representing a company, your company’s proprietary software assets are also allowed to be used with the appropriate permission within your organization. Please reference the Terms and Conditions to confirm that all IP rights remain with the participant and/or the organization they are representing.

All participants must agree to the Terms and Conditions listed.

REGISTRATION
Registration will be available soon.

Check back often for updates!