{"id":86789,"date":"2026-02-13T01:41:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T04:41:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/891957132"},"modified":"2026-02-13T01:41:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T04:41:15","slug":"namosi-youth-brings-village-vision-to-tech-hackathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/02\/13\/namosi-youth-brings-village-vision-to-tech-hackathon\/","title":{"rendered":"Namosi youth brings village vision to tech hackathon"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

When 22-year-old Ratu Meli Manumanutoga arrived in Suva for the Fiji Innovation Hub hackathon, he carried more than ambition \u2014 he carried the hopes of his village.<\/span><\/p>\n

Originally from Wainimakutu in Namosi, with maternal ties to Nasaqo in Naitasiri, Ratu Meli grew up in a rural community where access to technology was limited. But limited access did not mean limited vision.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes when you grow up in the village, you feel like big opportunities are only for people in the city,\u201d he said. \u201cI wanted to challenge that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The two-day hackathon brings together young innovators and gives them 48 hours to turn ideas into digital solutions in areas such as financial technology and sustainability. <\/span><\/p>\n

For Ratu Meli, it represents more than competition, it represents access.<\/span><\/p>\n

For him, joining the programme was not about prize money or recognition.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to prove to myself that I can create something meaningful,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I wanted to learn skills that I can take back home.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Growing up in the highlands of Namosi, he saw firsthand the challenges rural communities face \u2014 limited access to services, information gaps and fewer opportunities for young people.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI kept thinking, what if we could use technology to make things easier for our people?\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

That thought pushed him to apply for the hackathon.<\/span><\/p>\n

Walking into a room filled with developers, entrepreneurs and mentors was intimidating at first. But instead of stepping back, he chose to step forward.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI told myself, even if I don\u2019t win, I will gain experience. That alone is worth it,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ratu Meli hopes the knowledge he gains will one day help him create solutions that support farmers, small business owners and students in rural areas.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t just want to look for a job,\u201d he said. \u201cI want to build something that can help others.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

As teams work through tight deadlines and long hours, Ratu Meli remains focused \u2014 not just on the competition, but on the bigger picture.<\/span><\/p>\n

For a young man from Wainimakutu, standing among innovators and industry leaders already sends a powerful message: talent is not limited by geography.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, it is simply waiting for a chance,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Feedback: <\/span><\/em>rariqi.turner@fijisun.com.fj<\/span><\/em><\/a> <\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a><\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

… rural community where access to technology<\/span> was limited. But limited access … in areas such as financial technology<\/span> and sustainability. For Ratu Meli … , what if we could use technology<\/span> to make things easier for …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86789\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}