Inaugural Hack-a-Thon Event

On Saturday November 19th, Liongate Bahamas Limited held its inaugural Hack-a-Thon event at Equity Trust House. The Hack-a-Thon featured talented students in grades 10 and 11 from Windsor School and the International School of Entrepreneurship and Technology. The students were tasked with creating a digital solution that improves the Bahamian community that addresses the needs of everyday people.

The students were judged based on creativity, greatest social impact, completeness of solution and ease of use. The projects were judged by: Liongate Bahamas Limited CEO, Michael Dean; Equity Bank Bahamas Limited Head of Business Development and Fintech, Gilbert Cassar; Parliamentary Secretary, Wayde Watson, MP; Managing Director of the Bahamas Development Bank, Nicholas Higgs and President of Coding Bahamas Future, Catherine LaJeunesse.

The students impressed the judges with their creative digital solutions to climate change, car accident prevention and tools for the visually impaired. After deliberating, the judges announced Daniea Gray as the winner of the Hack-a-Thon for her creatively designed keyboard for the visually impaired. Unlike a normal ‘QWERTY’ keyboard, Gray’s keyboard consisted of only a few keys which were coded to formulate words rather than letters.

Daniea is a 10th grade student at the International School of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology (ISBET). ISBET was established in August 2021 as the founder felt that the educational system lacked foresight and forward-thinking that students today require. The classes at ISBET allow students to apply theory taught in the classroom to practical lessons and hands-on-experience. Additional courses available include: Coding & Robotics, Personal Finance, Cryptocurrency and Trading.

First, Second and Third place winners each received monetary prizes in Sand Dollar as a way of encouraging the youth to utilize the country’s digital currency.

Liongate plans to host the Hack-a-Thon annually and attract more and more talented students each year.