Last week, our graduates took part in a design sprint to validate and flesh out a business idea. We were lucky enough to be able to participate in Datacom’s annual hackathon event, Datacomp 2022, where over 200 brilliant people from various organisations came together to build digital solutions across Aotearoa and Australia.
The key issue being tackled by the graduates is the complex and lengthy process prisoners and their family members must go through when sending goods to their loved ones in prison. It can take up to several months just to receive basic necessities such as socks and underwear.
“Walking through the halls, I heard the echoes of officers stripping the men of their clothes. ‘Clothes off!’, ‘Turn!’, ‘Squat!’. There’s nothing more humiliating than three people watching you strip yourself of your dignity. They took every last thing I had down to my underwear because they were blue, a prohibited color, and they don’t provide you with any of these essentials.” said Saia, pitching their business solution to the audience.
The team created a prototype for a social enterprise called Ngā mihi, a secure, hassle-free marketplace for sending goods to loved ones in prison. This winning solution is simple yet powerful, utilising a “fast lane” e-commerce technology allowing safe and pre-approved products to be delivered effortlessly to prisons around New Zealand to individuals in need with humility and dignity.
We are so proud to report that they presented an outstanding pitch for their idea and won the Datacomp Hackathon 2022!! They have also appointed the Warehouse as a trusted third-party provider and will meet with Auckland South Corrections Facility in the coming weeks to explore launching a pilot of the service.
We would like to thank Datacom for their commitment going forward to help bring this solution to life, as well as Creative HQ, who facilitated an amazing design sprint the week before where Saia and a team of industry professionals validated the problem and created the first prototype solution.
This will be an experience we all remember for a very, very long time!
