Kenya is set to host the second edition of the Vodafone Appstar Challenge that targets mobile apps developers from South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania and India. The competition is two fold; the national phase and the International phase. The national phase rill run up to November 22nd and the International phase that will bring the best two from each country head to head will run in December in Nairobi Kenya.
To compete, developers are required to develop apps on Android, Java/Symbian, Windows Mobile or iOS Operating systems. The ideal app is supposed to provide solutions to existing challenges under the categories of Agriculture, Health, Education, Financial Inclusion, Games and Productivity.
“Globally, the applications development industry has grown exponentially and we are through the Safaricom/ Vodafone innovation Challenge, giving Kenyans an opportunity to benefit from this trend by providing solutions to challenges faced in the country,” said Safaricom’s Chief Executive Officer Bob Collymore.
The winner of the International phase will take home a $12,000 (slightly over Kshs. 1m) grand prize as the first and second runners up take home $6000 and $4000 respectively. The top three will also take home an iPhone 5 and iPads. Other prizes by Safaricom will go to those with best Java Application, best User Interface and those with best practical applications. There will also be other prizes worth $3000 to be won.
The first edition of the competition was held in South Africa last year where Kenya’s Gerald Kibugi and Gilbert Rono scooped the top two prizes.
