Joining hands with the innovation movement around the world to fight COVID-19 related challenges, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Viet Nam, AngelHack and the Hanoi Youth Union partner to launch the virtual hackathon “HACK CO VY” from April 24 to 26, 2020. HACK CO VY is the first online hackathon in Viet Nam that focuses on solving challenges facing the country due to COVID-19. The winning teams will not only receive a prize from our sponsors but also gain access to AngelHack’s very own HACKcelerator incubation programme to realize and scale up their ideas.

 Within four months since the first confirmed case in Wuhan, China, COVID-19 has cost thousands of lives from across 150 nations around the world. In Viet Nam, thanks to the timely guidelines and proactive actions of the Vietnamese Government by mobilizing and convening citizens, businesses and academia, the spread of the virus has been slowed. However, the consequences from COVID-19 disrupted many aspects of our daily lives and the economy: schools are shut down, businesses face extreme financial hardship, employees have lost their jobs, and isolation causes psychological stress, along with many other issues.

Challenging times call for the entire innovation ecosystem in Viet Nam including people, businesses and researchers to join hands in developing new solutions and to help address the complex socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 and support recovery and resilience efforts. Co-organized by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Viet Nam, Ha Noi Youth Union and AngelHack, "HACK CO VY 2020" is launched to call for innovative solutions to help respond to the COVID-19 outbreak in Viet Nam. Participants are asked to create technology solutions to help people overcome the negative impacts of COVID-19 - which are divided into six categories: Inequality, Economy, Health, Climate, Education and Governance. The entire contest will be held online.

“UNDP Viet Nam is thrilled to partner with AngelHack and Ha Noi Youth Union to support the Hack Covy hackathon to leverage inclusive innovation and technology development to support COVID-19 response in Viet Nam and Leave No One Behind” said UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, Sitara Syed. “UNDP is committed to supporting Viet Nam to urgently and effectively respond to COVID-19, as part of its mission to eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities and build resilience to crisis and shocks”.

Mr. Tran Quang Hung, Deputy Secretary of Hanoi Youth Union, the co-organizer of the Hackathon, truly believes in the impact of innovation: “The winning teams will approach outstanding venture capital firms such as VinaCapital via the crowdfunding platform www.jong.ventures to develop their ideas for sustainable development and positive social impact. HackCovy encourages youth to embrace innovation and resilience. That is the most important goal of the Hackathon”.

The competition welcomes all candidates who have ideas and skills to create solutions, from startup founders, programmers, designers, entrepreneurs, educators, social activists, etc. There is no restriction on age, gender, ethnicity, occupation or geographical location but at least one team member must be a Vietnamese citizen permanently residing in Vietnam.  For contestants, this is a great opportunity to learn and develop themselves, contribute initiatives for social impact, win valuable cash and in-kind prizes and participate in AngelHack's $25,000 HACKcelerator incubator programme to turn ideas into reality.

HACK COVY 2020 is expected to make a significant contribution to fostering the growth of a startup ecosystem that drives social and environmental impact, using tech for common good. The organizers hope this hackathon will nurture innovative ideas and build robust partnerships that help to build a community of social technology innovators in the future.

 The Hackathon is sponsored by VinAI, VinID, Vietjet, Furama, HDBank, and Alobase.

Find out more about joining the HACK COVY Movement at www.hackcovy.com