Synthetic Data generated by Syntho is used during the Dutch Chamber of Commerce’s (KVK) Hackathon.
In an exciting collaboration, Syntho worked with the Dutch Chamber of Commerce (KVK) to support their recent 2-day hackathon, Hackwerk (June, 2024).
About KVK
The Kamer van Koophandel (KVK), or the Dutch Chamber of Commerce, is a governmental organization in the Netherlands that supports businesses and entrepreneurs. The KVK’s main tasks are to operate the national Business Register and to give businesses support, advice, and information to make them successful.
3 challenges to solve by Hackathon participants to make the KVK more relevant for entrepreneurs
The Hackwerk Hackathon brought together 15 teams, each consisting of around five members, including KVK employees and invited guest teams. Participants competed to develop solutions to improve the role of the KVK for entrepreneurs in the Netherlands. Three different challenges were defined for participants to solve with smart solutions:
Challenge 1: Navigating through Government Complexity
Entrepreneur Robin struggles with the overwhelming and fragmented support from various government bodies. The challenge here was to create an innovative solution that enables better collaboration between different governmental agencies, ensuring entrepreneurs like Robin receive clear, streamlined assistance without being bounced from one department to another.
Challenge 2: Combating Misinformation in a Digital World
In the second challenge, Robin is confronted with the rise of deepfakes and digital misinformation, making it difficult to discern what is real. Participants were tasked with developing a solution that leverages AI to either capitalize on the opportunities AI presents or mitigate the risks associated with it, helping businesses navigate a digital landscape fraught with uncertainty.
Challenge 3: Boosting Startup Success
The final challenge focused on increasing the success rate of startups. Robin, part of a group of entrepreneurs who started five years ago, has seen many peers fail due to a lack of guidance and resources. The objective was to devise a solution, possibly in collaboration with KVK and other entities, that provides new businesses with the support they need during their critical early stages, using data, content, and the latest technologies.
The Solution: A synthetic version of the Business Register (Handelsregister)
Hackathons thrive on the free flow of ideas and unrestricted access to data. However, using real-world data can expose sensitive information, creating privacy concerns and compliance hurdles. Therefore, providing real data for such an event posed significant challenges, particularly around data privacy and security. As a solution, Syntho helped by creating synthetic versions of the data from the Chamber of Commerce Business Register (Handelsregister), ensuring participants’ protection and access to data. By generating a synthetic version of the Business Register (Handelsregister), we ensured that the participants had access to data that was:
- Privacy-Enhanced: Synthetic data reduces the risk of exposing sensitive information.
- Realistic data exploration: Our synthetic data retains the patterns and insights of the original datasets, enabling participants to explore real-world scenarios with confidence.
- Pushing creativity: With fewer limitations on data availability, participants were free to experiment, innovate, and push the boundaries of their ideas.
Synthetic Data to accelerate access to data during the KVK Hackathon
The introduction of synthetic data at Hackwerk helped the event foster a secure environment for the realization of innovation. Participants were able to use privacy-enhanced synthetic data to unleash their creativity and build smart, data-driven solutions. Our partnership with the KVK for Hackwerk exemplifies the potential of synthetic data in transforming how organizations approach data privacy and innovation for Hackathons and beyond. By providing synthetic datasets, Syntho enabled a secure and dynamic environment where ideas could thrive with fewer risks.
You can watch the highlights of the Hackwerk hackathon and see the exciting outcomes for yourself in this video. Want to learn more about how synthetic data can benefit your organization? Book a demo with us today!
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