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Abdullahi Alim completed his honours degree in Finance just one year ago.

But already, the UWA Business School graduate has co-founded a public policy house called The Lighthouse Strategy , run multiple hackathons and attracted government and corporate partners.

The Lighthouse Strategy aims to address issues of contemporary concern through Hackathons – a series of fast-paced and intense exercises where teams are given 48-72 hours to develop a prototype product, service or strategy. In less than nine months, he has attracted partners including the Australian Government, Google and Twitter and is now set to be part of the Hive Global Leaders Program .

“I’ve always been interested in global issues such as human migration and national security,” Abdullahi says.

“Through my current work, I’m able to intersect these interests with my passion for youth entrepreneurship.”

One of The Lighthouse Strategy’s programs is the highly-cited MYHACK – an unprecedented initiative that tasks the brightest young innovators, developers and thought-leaders to create tangible products that undermine the influence and pervasive appeal of violent extremist messaging. The teams working on the challenge have been mentored by executives and fellows from Google, Twitter, The Institute for Economics and Peace and leading academic institutions.

The winning team from MYHACK Perth developed a mentoring app which connects young people with mentors and peers of influence to promote non-violent civic engagement.

Meanwhile, the winning idea from MYHACK Melbourne collected the narratives of former extremists, which were then used to train teachers in at-risk schools.

While the program continues to undergo a nationwide rollout, MYHACK will also be rolled out this year in Nairobi, Kenya. Abdullahi says the goal of the company is to create hubs or ‘lighthouses’ around the world to promote social impact through youth entrepreneurship and innovative practice.

Next on Abdullahi’s list is attending the Hive Global Leaders Program in the United States. The four-day residential program will bring together innovators from around the world to workshop ideas which can solve humanity’s greatest challenges.

Beyond this, Abdullahi plans to expand the reach of his company with a series of DeadlyHacks tackling Indigenous disadvantage as well as StemHacks to combat the gender innovation bias in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Media references

Karen Della Torre (UWA Business School)                                           (+61 8) 6488 8538
Verity Chia (UWA Business School)                                                     (+61 8) 6488 1346