2022 Call for Code Case Competition

This case competition asks both non-technical and technical university-level student teams around the world to devise innovative solutions that address the challenge of making decent job creation, entrepreneurship, and fair, sustainable labor a lifelong opportunity of economic growth for all. The competition theme is inspired by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8. Your solution should address one of the diverse challenges aligned to this theme and demonstrate how technology can help communities in need around the world. While solution submissions do not need to include working code, you will need to describe the technologies required and how those technologies fit into the solution.

The economic shocks associated with COVID-19, such as industrial production disruptions, falling commodity prices, and increased market volatility, have made financial security and sustainable economic growth even harder to achieve. Sustained and inclusive economic growth can create more decent jobs and improve living standards. The World Development Report (2022) estimates that in 2020, economic activity contracted in 90 percent of countries, the world economy shrank by about 3 percent, and global poverty increased for the first time in a generation. While 3 billion people are working, almost half work in farming, small household enterprises, or in casual or seasonal labor. In these circumstances, incomes are insecure and leave more than 1.5 billion in vulnerable, marginalized employment with limited or non-existent "safety nets" to weather surprises such as illness or a break in employment. Many of the most vulnerable are young people and those in the transition from childhood to total independence.

Innovation is needed to address these issues. As examples, across the world, the creation of micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises have proven to drive economic development and transformative growth in communities across the world. Fair labor is the cornerstone of development, and advances in this area are essential in the creation of new jobs and engagement in the labor force.

Encourage full and productive employment, protecting labor rights and promoting safe and secure work for all women and men, including young people and persons with disabilities.
Increase economic productivity through diversification, technological upgrading, efficiencies in responsible consumption and production, or other innovations.
Promote development-oriented policies that support decent job creation or entrepreneurship, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services.