Kenya will host the second edition of the Vodafone Appstar Challenge. The competition targets mobile apps developers from South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Tanzania and India in which the winner stands to take home the grand prize of USD 12,000.
There are two phases in the competition; the national phase which is the first phase that will run up to November 22nd and the international phase of which the best two developers from the particular countries compete in Nairobi in December.
Participants have the chance to develop apps on either Android, Java/ Symbian, Windows Mobile, or IOS Operating systems. The challenges are to afford 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 in the international phase will win the grand prize of $12,000 the first runner up will bag $6,000 and second runners up will have $4,000. Other prizes worth of $3,000 as well as smartphones and tablets.
The top three overall winners will have an iPhone 5 and iPads. Winners with the best Java Application, best User Interphase, and the most Practical Application among others will take home high-end devices from Safaricom.
This is the first time that the international phase of the competition is being held in Nairobi. 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.