Hackathon empowers technicians  

When Lerotholi Polytechnic student Tlokotsi Potloane and some of his classmates entered the annual Ethereum Hackathon in Cape Town South Africa in September this year and emerged victorious, little did he know the contest would open doors to a whole world of unlimited opportunities.

Potloane is a 25-year old young man, born and bred in Leribe. He holds a diploma in Computer Systems Engineering, Cisco certificate network Associate in routing and switching (CCNA), CCNA in Introduction to Networks, certificate in Cisco Cybersecurity Essentials, certificate in coding and Programming for Data Analysis and Visualisation. He is still pursuing his degree in Computer Systems Engineering.

He says the EthCapeTown, as the hackathon was known, is a global competition that pitted the best hackers from around the world against each other as they vied for an assortment of prizes. Lesotho was taking part in the competition for the first time.

Also known as a codefest, a hackathon is an event where people engage in rapid and collaborative engineering over a relatively short period of time such as 24 or 48 hours.

“Our winning project, Pass and Pay Out, won because we developed exactly what the task required, all features and topped it up with integrating it with Artificial Intelligence and Data Analysis. We also used some of the concepts we learned in engineering mathematics to come up with some features,” Potloane explained.

In an interview with theReporter this week, Potloane said the competition went accordingly, since they had been doing block-chain technology since 2020 when nobody even knew about it. He personally knew that the opportunity would come eventually for him to prove himself, hence the challenging part did not prove to be that much of an issue.

He says time turned out to be the major constraint though, as they had three days to develop a working solution.

“Beyond my core technological expertise, my experience extends to the entrepreneurial realm, inspired by the innovative journey of successful technology entrepreneurs. Motivated by their achievements and vision, my teammates and I recognised the potential to carve out our own path in the technology industry.”

As a result, they decided to establish a technology company specialising in software development.

Since its inception, their company has focused on delivering cutting edge solutions tailored to meet evolving needs of businesses and individuals.

It continues to operate successfully, growing steadily while adapting to the dynamic demands of the technology landscape.

Potloane says, “This venture has not only allowed us to create impactful products but also to foster collaboration, innovation, and continuous learning within our team.”

He shares that this opportunity came through as an invitation from Dr Catherine Lephoto, an advocate of block chain technology, who recognised his potential and believed in his abilities.

Determined to live up to her trust, Potloane exceeded expectations, delivering results and proving himself capable of rising to any challenge.

This experience fuelled his passion for innovation and excellence in the technology field. Looking ahead, he says he remains committed to pushing boundaries, acquiring new skills, and contributing to ground-breaking advancement in the field.

“My goal is to continue making a meaningful impact, driven by the inspiration and support I received early in my journey,” Potloane noted.