Ericsson
has announced the launch of a regional competition for application developers,
startups and visionaries living in sub-Saharan Africa. The competition titled
‘Apps for African City Life’ is part the global 2013 Ericsson Application
Awards (EAA 2013) - an ongoing annual competition for application developers
worldwide, organized by Ericsson.
Applications
are an integral part of Ericsson’s vision of a Networked Society, where
anything that benefits from being connected will be connected, as applications
enable mobile users to create bespoke internet connections to give and receive
information to suit their lifestyle.
Lars
Lindén, Head of Ericsson Region sub-Saharan Africa said, “This competition is
designed to highlight potential uses of technology and innovation to address
global challenges and individual hardships. It is an ideal way to harness ideas
and showcase talent from across the region. Last year one of the regional
finalists went on to win EUR15, 000 in the global competition, with their
MedAfrica app, which was designed to increase access to health-care related
information and services via mobile phones.”
The
regional competition opened on October 29, runs until January 25, 2013. Entries
will be accepted in two categories - one for students and the other for small
and medium-sized enterprises. Teams are required to develop an application
based on the Android platform that addresses the theme, ‘Apps for African City
Life’ which is designed to promote the development of innovative ideas and
mobile applications to address situations particular to urban centers across
the region.
The
market for mobile applications has exploded over the past few years, and is
expected to be worth more than U.S. $21 billion in 2014. This growth has been
driven by the rise of smartphones, the development of mobile internet, and the
advent of several operating systems including the open-source Android mobile
operating system.
In
tandem, the rate of urbanization in Africa is widely recognized as the most
rapid in the world. In 2010, 47 African cities had populations in excess of one
million. By 2020, Africa is expected to have 70 cities with populations over 1
million, including 11 mega-cities with 5 million inhabitants or more. According
to the latest United Nations projections, between 2010 and 2030 the urban
population of sub-Saharan Africa is projected to double, from 298 million to
595 million.
However,
urbanization in Africa has yet to deliver the economic development and degree
of prosperity that might have been expected. Inadequate education and physical
infrastructure have constrained the efficient use of resources, and the
industrial development that might have come with it. While ICTs, and in
particular mobile technology, has dramatically transformed the way we live,
work and play, there is still an untapped potential for it to be used in
supporting social and economic growth, and well-being in the region.
This
year, members of the winning teams in the regional competition will each receive
top of the range android tablets and all application submissions will be automatically
entered into the global competition - EAA 2013 – ’Apps
for City Life’, for the
chance to win a €25,000 cash prize.
Last year’s winners of the global
competition – Shimba Technologies - came from Kenya with their MedAfrica app which was designed to increase access to
health-care related information and services via mobile phones.
Interested developers are required to
register teams of two to four people online at http://www.ericssonapplicationawards.com/apps-african-city-life
and submit an Android-based application on city life in Africa before January 25th, 2013.
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