A competition that challenged app developers across the developing world to create exciting applications that help people in their daily lives has seen several South African developers recognised.
A South
African app called My Pregnancy Journey was among five winners of the Best App
category of the the Huawei HMS App Innovation Contest, AppsUP. The
competition evaluated more than 150 mobile applications from five regions: Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East &
Africa (MEA), Latin America and China. The successful entries were shortlisted
due to the creativity and imagination their apps showcased.
“This
award is going to change the course of our app and now finally we can start
becoming a global contender and start making that social impact that we so
badly want to do.” says Jacqueline Rogers, founder of My Pregnancy Journey.
A South African app also took honours in the games category with Gauntlet one of five honourees for the Best Game app.
“The
opportunity to take our games to the next level was something we couldn’t
ignore,” says Zane Espin, developer of Gauntlet. “We had our biggest
successes to date on the Huawei AppGallery. And the Apps Up 2020 Contest format
was fantastic. What truly helped us integrate HMS Kits into our games was the
official and available resources from Huawei. We incorporated the Huawei Ads
Kit, Account Kit, and Game Kit, among others, to allow users to more easily
connect with the game and create a more engaging experience.”
The apps
were placed in regional sections and split between six categories.
The Middle
East and Africa category winners were:
MEA App
of the Year x 1:
AMAN from Jordan
Best App
x 5: My
Pregnancy Journey App from South Africa, Almosally App from Egypt, Deaf Sign
Language App (ASL) from Pakistan, Med from Tunisia, Women Workout from Morocco.
Best Game
x 3: FPS Encounter
Shooting 2020: New Shooting Games from Pakistan, Bike Stunt Race Master
Motorcycle Game from Pakistan, and Gauntlet from South Africa.
Best
Social Impact App x 3: My Pregnancy Journey App from South Africa, Deaf Sign Language App
(ASL) from Pakistan, and Almosally from Egypt
Most
Popular App x 1
(according to the download & voting): Almosally from Egypt
Honorable
Mention x 12: Slug
Hunter from South Africa, Color FIll Puzzle from Algeria, Load Shedding
Notifier from South Africa, RafiQ from Algeria, 9arib from Egypt, Colorwheel
from Egypt, Katamars + Orsozoxi from Egypt, Decipher Word from Morocco, photo
editor from Morocco, Message of happiness from Egypt, Q Dictionary from Egypt,
and Ordera from Egypt.
The winners
will share in a regional prize money allocation of $200,000 USD as part of the
total $1 million USD from the Shining Star developer programme for the
competition. The top five apps receive $15,000 each; the top three games get
$15,000; the top three apps with the best social impact are awarded $15,000;
The most popular app will win $5,000, while the 12 honorable mentions receive
$2,500 each.
Adam Xiao, managing director of HMS and Consumer Cloud Service for Huawei Consumer Business Group MEA, said: “Developers in the MEA region impressed judges with the creativity and innovation seen in their apps. By using the power of HMS Core, developers were able to create unique experiences for Huawei users that help them in their daily lives.”
* For more details about the competition, visit: https://developer.huawei.com/consumer/en/activity/detail/007?previewUrl=digixappsupmeaen&channelname=HuoDong26&ha_source=cp
