From November 17 to 19, the Standard Bank Business Incubator hosted the 3rd edition of the Hack4Moz Technological Solutions Development Marathon, an initiative of the Geospatial Development Agency (ADE), which brought together teams made up of software developers, graphic designers, marketers and other professionals related to the programming area.

This is a 32-hour uninterrupted work marathon involving 60 application developers, with the aim of creating specific, innovative and high-impact solutions to meet the challenges of the agricultural sector's value chain.

Speaking at the ceremony to launch the initiative, ADE's general director, Odete Semião, explained that for the first time they had chosen to hold the event on a different model: "We focused on a single challenge in which the idea is to scale up, i.e. that it doesn't just remain a prototype, but that a platform is developed that we can all be proud of, in which any farmer can, from anywhere in the country, go to the platform and make their produce available," she said.

For his part, the managing director of Standard Bank, Bernardo Aparício, considered that the theme chosen for this Hackathon reflects the importance of agribusiness and the entire value chain of the agricultural sector in the Mozambican economy.

"This is a topic that is on Standard Bank's agenda, which is why we have held several forums on agriculture to discuss the sector's trends and connect all the players in the value chain to the business opportunities that exist to promote the sector's growth, greater investment and competitiveness," he said.

For the Deputy Minister of Transport and Communications, Amilton Alissone, the event, which had 11 teams made up of five members each, put the participants' knowledge and technological skills to the test, with a view to finding possible solutions to improve the promotion of agricultural development in Mozambique. Agriculture is a vital sector for the country, supporting a large part of the population and contributing significantly to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

However, he added, the way in which information related to the agricultural value chain is made available means that this crucial sector faces significant challenges that can jeopardize efficiency, fairness and its sustainability.

"The availability of up-to-date, quality data and information is essential for guiding policies and programs, attracting investment, improving agricultural practices and guaranteeing an improvement in the distribution of agricultural production," he concluded.