For the 2014 GES, GIST has brought together its finalists from 23 countries around the world for the final round of the GIST Technology-Idea or Tech-I competition. This year, GIST received over 500 applications from 61 countries. After expert review, its semi-finalists received over 400,000 votes globally to determine the 30 finalists who pitched in the Innovation Village over two days of the GES.

All 30 of these finalists were impressive young men and women with a passion for using science and technology to solve local and global problems through creating startups. They worked with mentors and trainers this week to improve their pitches. They learned so much, and the GIST team was honored to learned much from them.

David Gluckman won the first place award for a competitor in the startup phase. Gluckman is a 26 year old male from South Africa whose startup Lumkani has developed a low-cost fire detection device and early-warning integrated alert service leveraging off mobile network platforms. The device and service will be sold to slum-dwellers in high-density slums across the globe to mitigate the loss of life and property thus increasing human safety and security.

Mixon Faluweki, a 24 year old male from Malawi, won the first place award for a startup in the idea phase. His innovation, the Padoko charger, uses a bicycle dynamo to charge cellphones while the user is cycling between locations. This diminishes the need to pay for charging stations and brings mobile access to rural areas.

GIST is proud to announce the full list of winners of the 2014 Tech-I Competition:

Idea Stage Awards:

1st Place Idea Stage: Mixon Faluweki, Padoko, Malawi

2nd Place Idea Stage: Cynthia Ndubuisi, Kadosh Production Company, Nigeria

3rd Place Idea Stage: Alim Khamitov, Dozor, Kazakhstan

Startup Stage Awards:

1st Place Startup Stage: David Gluckman, Lumkani, South Africa

2nd Place Startup Stage: Mawano Kambeu,,Bus Tickets Zambia, Zambia

3rd Place Startup Stage: Edmund Ainebyona, Cipher256, Uganda

Honorable Mentions:

Agriculture Honorable Mention: Juan Carlos Guaqueta, AcuaCare, Colombia

Energy Honorable Mention: Dilmurod Eshmuradov, UzSolar, Uzbekistan

Health Honorable Mention: Charles Akhimien, OMOMI, Nigeria

ICT Honorable Mention: Shahzeb Mirza, Magision, Pakistan

Other Awards:

Best Female Entrepreneur: Cynthia Ndubuisi, Kadosh Production Company, Nigeria

Potential for Societal Impact Award: Onyedikachukwu Igili, Waste to Point Recycling, Nigeria

Science & Technology Excellence Award: Felipe Varea, Kaitek Labs, Chile

Spirit of Tech-I Award: Wassim Zoghlami, What'sIn, Tunisia

The Tech-I competition is implemented by AAAS.