By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
HARARE — SilicaGuard has emerged as the overall winner of the Cimas Healthathon 3.0 Grand Finale, taking home the top prize of US$3,500 after a fiercely contested competition that drew 372 submissions from across Zimbabwe.
The grand finale, held on 28 August 2026 at Cimas Health Group’s Borrowdale headquarters under the theme “Reimagining Healthcare Through Disruptive Innovation,” brought together ten finalist teams who pitched their technology-driven solutions to a panel of judges comprising Cimas leadership and external experts from the healthcare, technology, and innovation sectors.
The Winning Innovation
SilicaGuard, which secured first place, is developing a USSD and AI-assisted screening system targeting silicosis among artisanal miners.
The solution would assess miners’ risk, provide health information, support referrals, and track whether those referred subsequently reach a health facility. What makes the innovation particularly noteworthy is its accessibility — miners can use the service from basic mobile phones without requiring smartphones or internet connectivity.
Runtime Terrors claimed second position and a US$2,000 prize, while Blood Geo Alert secured third place and US$1,500.
A Competition with National Impact
The Healthathon 3.0 was launched in June 2026 with a single open-ended challenge, allowing participants to approach healthcare problems from any angle.
The 372 submissions represented a significant increase from the previous edition, demonstrating what organisers described as a strong appetite and considerable capability among Zimbabwean innovators to contribute to solving healthcare challenges.
The solutions on display at the finale covered a broad range of areas, including diagnostics, preventive healthcare, artificial intelligence, rural healthcare, rehabilitation, data protection, and emergency response .
Cimas Health Group Chief Information Officer Foster Akaketwa said the real success of Healthathon would be measured by whether ideas developed through the competition could move into implementation and begin making a measurable difference in people’s lives .
Full List of Finalists
The Top 10 teams that competed in the grand finale were:
SilicaGuard — Winner (US$3,500)
Runtime Terrors — 1st Runner-up (US$2,000)
Blood Geo Alert — 2nd Runner-up (US$1,500)
The Interns
Mambokadzi
Girls Who Code
Lango
Chengetai Health
Grip Co
Team Viva
#Healthathon2026 #DigitalHealth #UniversalHealthCoverage #ZimbabweHealthcare #InnovationForAll
About Author
