A global community of justice entrepreneurs is getting international recognition for making justice systems more user-friendly. We support innovators that prevent or resolve people ́s pressing justice problems. We do this through data, innovation and transformation.
On 7 November, meet the next generation of justice innovators. We are proud to introduce to you the finalists of the Innovating Justice Challenge at The Impact Hub, Johannesburg.
The Southern Africa Regional Finals is one of four events taking place across Africa, and is supported by the Dutch Postcode Lottery to scout the next generation of promising justice innovations preventing or resolving people’s most pressing justice needs.
Finalists pitch their ground-breaking innovations to a jury of international experts who will choose the ́best three ́. The winners gain acceptance into HiiL’s Justice Accelerator, can receive up to 20.000 Euro in grant funding and potential third party investment, tailored training and business development support, access to HiiL’s international network of experts and global exposure.
Our selection process for the Regional Finals is rigorous and based on potential impact, scale and sustainability for justice innovations. Given the recent focus on gender-based violence in Southern Africa, we’re particularly excited that not only do seven out of the nine finalists have a female founder, but there is a strong focus across the board on issues of domestic violence, employment rights and family matters that disproportionately affect women.
Meet our finalists:
for the children’s sake
Children fair better in family disputes when mediation is available. This group of professional mediators and members of the Wynberg Magistrates’ Court currently offer families pro bono mediation services to resolve disputes in the best interests of the children, and will introduce its proven methodology to other courts throughout the country.
A first for Zimbabwe, LawBasket provides add-on legal protection for insurance customers, delivering legal services through an online platform of freelance lawyers worldwide.
THE LEGAL TEAM
A comprehensive portal for small to medium businesses, THE LEGAL TEAM offers a start-up toolkit to guide emerging entrepreneurs through their legal, regulatory and compliance needs.
Drawing on decades of experience in the paralegal sector, LegalFundi guides individuals and businesses who cannot afford professional advice through legal process flows. It also provides access to essential documents with both a free and paid for service.
Masenze Strategic Advisors
An easy-to-use chatbot that is designed to simplify and translate legal information into local languages and make it useful for individuals. Masenze deals with issues such as employment or family law, or interacting with the government.
The majority of South Africans die intestate, leaving families locked up in red tape when dealing with their estate. Using My Will Online, people can create and maintain their Last Will and Testament via a web portal or mobile app.
rAInbow
Tackling one of South Africa’s most pressing justice issues, rAInbow is a digital companion which has helped thousands of women who are in abusive and controlling relationships with non-judgemental support.
An established law firm with a track record in assisting small businesses, Schoeman Law has created a low-cost, self-serve platform for automated contracting. Using its technology, agreements can be built in a few minutes and at 10% of usual rates.
Aimed at reducing the incidence of Domestic and Gender Based Violence in South Africa, The Warrior Project promotes rights awareness for women through strategic partnerships and community building, together with a comprehensive directory of resources designed to turn victims into Warriors.
About the Innovating Justice Challenge
Innovation is happening. HiiL’s Justice Accelerator grows and scales justice innovations so they can reach many more people. We look for innovations that provide legal information, legal services or dispute resolution. HiiL has supported more than 90 justice innovations worldwide since 2011. Some of those have impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of people and, with our help have the potential to become regional or global players.
