Apps are taking over the world. Grab, Robinhood, DoNotPay, Snapchat, mobile apps are expected to generate over a trillion in revenue by 2024. On the other hand, third-world countries are considered now the new breeding ground for app innovations and next-gen app entrepreneurs.
Why?
There’s no doubt that developing nations have more real-world problems than first-world countries. Areas such as community, logistics, education, legal, and environment are only some of the spaces to which there’s a ton of potential for innovation.
As we all saw, there’s an increasing trend of investors pouring funding into startups in countries like the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.
This is because first, there are a lot of problems yet to be solved in Southeast Asia, which means there’s a lot of market potential and a lower barrier for entry.
To address the opportunity and problem statement, we founded Hikre School with one concept in mind, to create an all-in-one program for aspiring app entrepreneurs. Students get to learn from scratch how to design and build apps from their computers while working on finding a solution for a real-world problem.
To make our vision possible, we leverage a learning and teaching framework called challenge-based learning, which is similar to project-based learning, however, challenge-based learning incorporates technology into the process. The goal is to have students come up with possible real-world solutions to problems.
A bit of history, challenged-based learning first appeared from the “Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow — Today”, a project initiated in 2008 by Apple to identify the essential design principles of a 21st-century learning environment.
In this model, students are instructed to simulate problem-solving solutions through collaboration, hands-on learning, and app challenges. For instance, before they go to design or code apps, they first have to go through brainstorming their big ideas, essential questions, and challenges.
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Within the first three months of launch, we’ve gathered 200+ feedbacks from social media and nearly 200 student applications. This shows an increasing interest in app development among college students, freelancers, and business owners.
Take a look at one of the student projects.
Source: Youtube/Hikre School
The team designed a healthcare app to help transition physical health services to online services.
According to Philippine Statistics Authority, in 2020, suicide in the Philippines went up 26 per cent. When the pandemic started, unemployment rose, stress levels skyrocketed, reports of domestic abuse are up.
In times like these, we need to use technology to fill in the gaps. One way to we can do that is through mobile apps.
The app also features an AI called Moxie that guides you through your medical needs. It asks you questions for instance regarding the pain level of your headache to which it provides you the right consultation and advice. Plus, you can connect and consult with doctors directly from the app.
It’s your medical care within your reach.
Another team applied to Impact Hub Manila’s hackathon, which is one of the biggest organisers in the Philippines. The event was a three-day-long where students from all over the Philippines came together to brainstorm an idea, build a demo prototype, and propose a solution to the big idea of Climate Change.
The team designed and developed a beautiful solution for managing the issue of plastic waste. It’s a combination of education and gamification in one platform designed to encourage a call to action among high school and college students show below.
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As a result of the students’ creation, they walked away as grand champions along with $20,000 worth of incubation support from Impact Hub Manila and a 35,000 PHP cash prize.
These are just some case studies and projects proposed by the students on how to tackle problems not only in the Philippines but for entire Southeast Asia. Just like how the Western is ruled by apps, soon Southeast Asia will follow its path.
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