DiGi announces winners for ideation phase of Challenge for Change 2012

DiGi announces winners for ideation phase of Challenge for Change 2012
Ideation winners progress to app development phase, alongside two surprise 'wildcard' ideas

SHAH ALAM, 21 February 2013: DiGi Telecommunications Sdn Bhd ('DiGi') announced the winners of the ideation phase of its Challenge for Change programme today, including two (2) surprise wildcard ideas in addition to the five (5) planned category winners. These winners were selected from close to 2,000 Malaysian-inspired mobile internet ideas submitted by a pool of students, NGOs, app developers and the general public.

Christian Thrane, Chief Judge for Challenge for Change and DiGi's Chief Strategy and Corporate Affairs Officer said, "We are pleased with the good variety and quality of ideas submitted, and the broad range of people who contributed them. The winning ideas best captured the value of 'Bringing Malaysians together, one app at a time'. These ideas demonstrated clarity of expression, innovation, originality and viability, and sustainability in using the mobile internet platform."

The panel of judges first selected the top five (5) winning ideas from an initial shortlist of 30. Due to the quality of ideas submitted, the judges decided to recognize two (2) additional winners. "These app ideas have real potential for commercialisation and adoption. What particularly impressed us about the two wildcard ideas is the prospect of these ideas becoming apps that serve a greater social need."

The winners who will receive RM5,000 and a smartphone package are:

CategoryCategory WinnerApplication Idea Discovering Together Low Chin Leong, 21, Taiping Classic New Game Working Together Ong Sze Tek, 29, Kuching My Neighbourhood Learning Together Michelle Fung, 24, Sibu Earth's Green Heroes Healthier Together Nicholas Khooi, 17, Sungai Siput Smart Reminder Sharing Together Siva Kumar, 37, Shah Alam Greetings Manager Wildcard Winner Mohd Eskandarian B. Mirza, 29, Puchong Futsal 5ive Wildcard Winner Leow Aik Peng, 41, Klang Social Blood Drive *More information in the factsheet appended.

Christian said the winning app ideas reflected the philosophy of this year's Challenge to enable Internet For All Malaysians. "The submissions show that Malaysians recognize the power of mobile internet and mobile apps in driving personal and socio-economic growth for Malaysians at large. I look forward to see how the ideas will flourish in the vibrant local content and developer ecosystem during the App Development challenge, and benefit as many Malaysians as possible through the mobile app innovations."

The App Development phase of DiGi Challenge for Change 2012 is now open. App developers are invited to participate in a Hackathon to develop mobile apps of the winning ideas. These apps will be available for download and review by the public before the Challenge closes on 22 May 2013. The most popular and relevant apps relating to each of the seven (7) winning ideas, based on the judges' decision, will win this challenge.

DiGi will further support these winning apps by promoting them to its 5.7 million mobile internet users across its various customer touch points, and through its partnerships with Microsoft Malaysia, Google Malaysia, MDeC's ICONApps platform and selected platforms under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP).

The Hackathon will be held from 22 to 24 March 2013 at DiGi's headquarters. For more information on how to participate, please visit www.dgcfc.my.