SXSW Startups: GoTech Puts Out Fires
The Forrest Four-Cast: February 14, 2018
From all around the world, 50 diverse startups will come together to compete at the 2018 SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event on March 10 and 11. Winners in each of 10 categories will be honored at the Accelerator Award Ceremony at 7 pm Sunday, March 11, at the Hilton Austin, Salon AB. The SXSW Accelerator Pitch Event takes place within the Startup & Tech Sectors track of programming.
Based in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as well as Rwanda, GoTech is resolved to develop, design and implement solutions to help communities respond to fire. It offers an early-warning system called Lumkani that aims to reduce the destruction caused by the rapid spread of slum fires. It senses for the rate at which temperature changes and if it senses a fire, it transmits a signal to nearby devices. The idea is to create a network of devices, so communities can work together to snuff out a threat. The product has been implemented successfully in South Africa and the name Lumkani was chosen because it has meaning in both countries. In Zulu, it means “Be Aware,” and in Swahili, it means “wake up.” Company leader Parfait Lukuka spoke about the company’s mission and plans. Pushed by the desire to make a difference, he says, the GoTech founders stay driven by the thirst of being the change they want to see.
See the product in action at the final pitch session for the Hyper-Connected Communities Technology category at 5 pm Saturday, March 10, in the Hilton Austin, Salon AB. You can also meet GoTech and the 49 other finalists from this competition on Monday, March 12, at the SXSW Accelerator Demo Day, at the Hilton Austin, Salon C.
What is GoTech’s competitive advantage?
Our most important competitive advantage is that our startup Lumkani literally and practically saves lives, and that is priceless.
What does GoTech hope to achieve in 2018?
We hope to officially launch our venture in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. We can’t say we are not excited about it. It is going to be a dream come true.
What inspired you to apply for SXSW Accelerator?
What inspired us was the potential of the event. It offers so much media coverage and exposure that will boost us.
Has anyone on your team been to SXSW before?
I went last summer with the Young African Leaders on a program called the Mandela Washington Fellowship. I was blown away by the kinds and numbers of activities during the festival. Ever since then, SXSW resurfaces in so many of my conversations.
What is the most intriguing thing about the event?
It gathers together thousands and thousands of innovators from around the world for nine days. New ventures and startups get to pitch their ideas to a number of business angels. That is something we don’t find in Africa, especially in my country, ever.
What are the goals for GoTech at SXSW 2018?
Coming from Africa, we only have one goal, to attend and win the hell out of the competition. We’d also like to make connections and meet potential partners who could accompany us on the implementation of our project.
How long has the GoTech team been together?
Our team has been together for three years now, and there have been ups and down. But the great thing about it is that not only do we like working together, we also became good friends, a family.
GoTech is based in the DRC and Rwanda. Would you give us some context on what it is like to launch a startup in Africa?
To launch a startup, we call upon the media companies and Telecoms, the more media coverage you get the more chances your product is likely to get known and bought. It is a continuous process; the marketing has to keep going with ads. Once the production and distribution channels are set, and you have a well-managed inventory, we call it a launch.
Looking at the entire tech industry, what technology does your team think is most overrated?
Let’s give you a scenario. At times we watch on TV that there is a restaurant in the world where you don’t need to talk to no seller, but instead at a computer screen, you place your order and a plate appears in a side window. It is all beautiful and convenient, but it would not be solving a real problem in country. On the contrary, it would cut jobs down. I am not saying that all AI are useless, but Africa is not there yet. There are other problems we need to solve first before we start sending our waiters home.
What aspects of the startup experience do you enjoy most?
One of the things is the inception and research phase followed by a good feedback from questionnaires. The other time is when we are testing our prototypes and find out that they are fully functional.
What has the startup experience taught you about life?
Do what you love, be persistent and resilient. Nothing comes easy in life. If you do what you do solely for money, you are most likely not to make it. You have to find a reason that is bigger that yourself, to push you and get you going when you think about giving up.
Other than GoTech, what is world’s the most exciting / most intriguing startup at present?
There is WinMinner and the digital currency business that are seriously and slowly taking the lead. There is also the Hanson Robotics taking the AI on the next level.
Person, company, thing or goal. What inspires your team to work harder?
Steve Jobs inspires us a lot. He was able to design, create and bring to life one of the best tech brands in the world. Not only did he make and design hardware, but also the fastest and most user-friendly empire of electronics.
You can invite any three living people from anywhere in the world to dinner. Who do you invite and why?
The first one is Dr. Wayne Dyer, his spirituality is contagious and so deep, I would love to get a slice from his wisdom. Second is Oprah Winfrey, I would have dinner with her because she great and the most achieved black woman that has ever walked on earth apart from Mary, the mother of Jesus. Last but not least is Barack Obama, he is one of the best leaders of our generation. I have a lot to learn from him.
What do you know now that you wish you had known before you began the startup journey with GoTech?
Everything is always connected; hard work always pays back.
Look for interviews with other SXSW Accelerator finalists in this space between now and March. Startups already profiled as part of this series include 70MillionJobs, ARwall, Bluefield, Cambridge Cancer Genomics, Commutifi, DashTag, FanFood, Goalsetter, HealthTensor, Instreamatic, Leaf, Moms Can: Code, Pawame, PolyPort, Sceenic, Switchboard, UPGRADED, USHR and Vochlea.
Or, click here to browse the full lineup of startups for SXSW Accelerator 2018.
Hugh Forrest serves as Chief Programming Officer at SXSW, the world’s most unique gathering of creative professionals. He also tries to write at least four paragraphs per day on Medium. These posts often cover tech-related trends; other times they focus on books, pop culture, sports and other current events.
