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Twenty-eight-year-old Rui Bento da Graca is among the prize-winning innovators at a recent “IP Hack” hosted by WIPO for young Cabo Verdeans, who used the online event to explore how intellectual property (IP) can help stimulate their country’s social and economic development.
The three-day marathon, with the winner’s announcement on April 10th, 2023, welcomed more than 320 young Cabo Verdeans aged 18 to 35 from different islands. The participants formed small groups to look into how IP can be used to address their country’s developmental priorities, including IP awareness raising, energy efficiency, and tourism.
Rui's team proposed a visitor center called "Terra d'Nhô kzik" that would aim to boost tourism development and promote IP-backed nation branding in Cabo Verde, providing authentic and enriching experiences for tourists involving local communities as service providers. The proposed facility would also address local social challenges such as unemployment, rural exodus, deforestation, and more, while also diversifying cultural tourism.
“Our teamwork was key to achieving success in the hackathon. No words can express my gratitude for the opportunity to participate in the IP hack,” said Rui who led the team also comprising Marvin Spencer, Adelgisa da Veiga Monteiro, Rodilson Delgado, and Ivan Gomes.
Tourism is an important driver of economic growth in Cabo Verde, and young entrepreneurs like Rui are determined to expand the tourist offering with a focus on cultural and ecological tourism, while empowering their local communities to be a part of this developing industry.
Most of the proposed solutions in the IP hack were app-based, reflecting the country's ambition to transform into a digital economy.
Another winning team concentrated on IP education and developed a gaming app named "Txinau Game". This app offers gamified learning experiences designed to promote awareness about IP among young people, with the aim of increasing public knowledge about IP in a fun and engaging approach.
‘’It was a unique experience with tips that I will take on for life’’ said Davidson Monteiro, a member of the gaming app team.
As winners of the IP hack, 30 participants from six teams will receive WIPO-facilitated training and mentoring on IP commercialization.
The IP hack has provided a platform for young entrepreneurs to showcase their talents and contribute to their country's development - thus catalyzing youth entrepreneurship through IP.
Background
The IP hack is an online innovation marathon event that aims to enhance the development of youth entrepreneurship with the power of intellectual property. It is part of a wider related WIPO project from the Regional and National Development Sector (RNDS) projects’ team working closely with Cabo Verde’s Institute for Quality Management and Intellectual Property (IGQPI) entitled “Catalyzing Youth Entrepreneurship through Intellectual Property in Cabo Verde,” which comprises three main phases: general IP training conducted by the WIPO Academy, a hackathon, and training and mentoring on IP commercialization.