Applicants for Ericsson’s Application Awards – and the €10 000 to €25 000 prize money – are rushing to submit their ideas before the 18 February deadline.
Already, a significant number of entries to the global competition has been received from the sub-Saharan Africa region.
“Africa is a mobile continent and mobile application development is becoming one of the continent’s next big industries,” says Shiletsi Makhofane, vice-president: marketing and strategy at Ericsson sub-Saharan Africa.
“New behaviour and emerging technologies are changing how work is organised. This year’s competition focuses on apps that will define the next generation of working life.”
The theme of the 2014 competition is Apps for Working Life, in support of Ericsson’s vision of the Networked Society in which – through a combination of mobility, broadband, the cloud, applications and services – anything and everything is connected.
Kenyan team, MedAfrica, won the 2012 global Ericsson Application Awards for a mobile application which seeks the health of communities and regions in Africa by increasing access to health-care related information and services.
Since winning the Ericsson Application Awards, the team has developed an updated version of their app which was featured by the BBC showcasing how technology can do good.
This is the fifth consecutive year that Ericsson has organised the Ericsson Application Awards. Students and small- and medium-sized enterprises from anywhere in the world are invited to submit Android and iOS mobile apps.
This year, the first prize is €25 000, the second prize is €1 000, and there is special recognition for innovation supporting Technology for Good. Third to 10th prizes include diplomas and honorary mentions.
Additionally, this competition gives winners an opportunity to gain a foothold in the app industry, while also earning recognition and making contacts within the telecom industry.
The deadline for application submissions is 28 February, 2014.