The Vodafone App Star Challenge is a software development competition that was launched by Vodafone and is being conducted by their local partner, Safaricom, in Kenya to find good mobile applications worth investing in for the mobile space. The competition was launched in September 2012 and will have its finals on December 18th Nairobi, Kenya at the Windsor Hotel. There were a total of 427 registrations and 204 apps from Kenya all in to compete for the final prize.
2 or 3 developers will get to showcase their mobile software applications on an international stage to a panel of international judges on the last day and they will be a representation of the best in the Kenyan tech scene from that initial selection.
In this competition, the winner will receive 12,000 USD in prize money. First runner up will receive 6,000 USD, while 2nd runner up will get 4,000 USD.
The final awarding decision will be made with major consideration being given to top apps per operating system (brand agnostic android, java, Symbian, iOS, Windows Phone) and creativity in the development of the apps as far as features (Ux) and look-and-feel (Ui) goes.
“Last year, Kenyan contestants took 1st and 2nd place and we want to see that remain the case this year as well,” commented Veronicah Ogeto Tchoketch, Head of Innovation at Safaricom. “I wish you all the best as you work to put your apps on the global map.” she continued.
In 2012, the international challenge witnessed participation of over 3,000 contestants from 6 countries across the Middle East and Africa, and over 500 app submissions, each unique in their own way.
The finals were held at Vodacom World, Johannesburg SA.
The winners were as follows:
- 1st Place went to Kenya’s Gerald Kibugi for his ‘Tough Jungle’ app, an action adventure game that introduces Kenya’s culture, history and the destination in an engaging and interactive manner.
- 2nd Place went to Kenya’s Gilbert Rono for his ‘Eureka’ app, an innovative educational app that simplifies problem solving such as Calculus and Algebra.
- 3rd Place went to Rudolph Joubert from South Africa who designed the Ster-Kinekor app, that facilitates movie fans to book movies and choose seats from their mobile device.
We wish Kenyans the best as they endeavour to retain podium finishes in this competition.
