RVIBS Director, in black suit, hands over KSh 250, 000 reward to Vincent Karanja after emerging winner of the RVIBS-World Bank tech challenge on March 7, 2025. Photo/RVIBS Media
BY: Communication Team
A trained teacher turned tech innovator emerged top at the RVIBS Hackathon event held today, March 7, bagging a cash prize of Ksh 250,000.
The winning project, FIVE (Farmers Integrated Virtual Exchange), is a digital platform aimed at transforming Kenya’s agricultural sector through technology.
Developed by Vincent Karanja, a beneficiary of the RVIBS-KIEP-SKIES project, the FIVE platform provides real-time agricultural support, logistics, education, and marketplace access to farmers.
The innovation impressed judges with its potential to address food insecurity while driving job creation and sustainable rural development.
“FIVE is about more than just farming. It’s about economic dignity for small-scale farmers and leveraging tech for national food security,” the innovator said during his pitch.
The competition drew dozens of tech minds from across the country, all challenged to create solutions for real-world problems.
RVIBS Hackathon top 2 winners. Their project is a SMart Farm that can regulate soil moisture. Photo/RVIBS Media
Other top entries included; a Smart Clothes Collector – a system that automatically collects hanging clothes during unexpected rain & a Smart Farm Tech – a humidity-sensing platform that automates soil moisture regulation for optimal crop growth.
RVIBS Director John Gitau praised the win as “a testament to the power of combining technical training with innovation and entrepreneurship.”
RVIBS Director John Gitau, speaking during the RVIBS hackathon event, promised tech lovers more events to spark innovations. Photo/Rvibs Media
“We are incredibly proud. This is why RVIBS exists—to produce bold thinkers and changemakers. As the management, we are planning to be hosting tech events every semester to spark innovations from these kid of brains” Gitau said.
RVIBS decided to host the Hackathon event for beneficiaries of World Bank’s 10 million. The sponsorship targeted training youth and women in areas of technology such as Digital Marketing, Cyber Security, Wed Development, Graphic Design as well as IOT & Robotics.
