Barbados’ state-owned enterprise, GovTech, has partnered with Zindi to launch an Apps Challenge aimed at harnessing technology in solving key public service challenges.
The competition, which began in August and runs until October 14, invites developers in Barbados and beyond to submit innovative solutions that address issues such as digitising land registry plans, preserving historic archives, and easing traffic congestion. Entries can be submitted individually or in teams, with winners set to share prize pools of up to US$25,000.
At a workshop hosted on Saturday, September 6, at Pelican House in Bridgetown, GovTech welcomed 30 tech-savvy participants to explore how data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence can be applied to government services.
GovTech’s CEO Mark Boyce said the initiative provides a dual benefit, first to sharpen the skills of local developers, while targeting problems faced by the Government.
“We’re building capacity in AI and data science, while also working on real challenges the Government needs solved,” Boyce explained.
One of those challenges is the digitisation of cadastral plans for the Land Registry. At present, data from these plans is entered manually, a slow and error-prone process. Developers are being asked to create solutions using optical character recognition technology to make the process more efficient.
The largest prize pool, valued at US$25,000, is tied to the Reclaiming Our Atlantic Destiny (ROAD) project. This task involves using handwriting recognition to preserve centuries-old archival records, many of which are no longer easily understood.
“We’re training models to understand historical handwriting automatically, so we can remove the manual element,” Boyce said.
A third challenge focuses on traffic congestion. Developers are encouraged to analyse driver behaviour and congestion patterns to suggest data-driven solutions that could ease pressure on roundabouts and other choke points.
Boyce noted that GovTech’s collaboration with Zindi represents the largest challenge in Zindi’s history, attracting both local and international developers. He expressed optimism that the effort would position Barbados as a regional hub for data science innovation.
Entries remain open until October 14, and GovTech is urging interested participants to take advantage of the opportunity to contribute solutions that could transform public services in Barbados.
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