It is indeed great times for technology in Africa. This has been further proven by the announcement of a joint initiative by the World Bank and Nokia to help improve access to Information and Communication Technology development in Africa. The same initiative will be extended to Asia and Latin America also.
Nokia and the World Bank will be working closely with innovation hubs across these continents to identify ideas for funding. This would be principally done by AppCampus – a mobile application accelerator program established in 2012 and managed by the Aalto University in Finland.
The joint investment, worth 18 million euros by Nokia (in partnership with Microsoft), is aimed at fostering the development of mobile applications on Windows and any other Nokia platforms.
The announcement apportions part of the investment fund to 26 awards per year, for the best mobile innovation ideas to be made through the mobile innovation hub network. The beneficiaries at the start would include InfoDev mobile application labs in Kenya, Vietnam, South Africa and Armenia, as well as mobile application Labs in Egypt (TIEC), Nigeria (Co-Creation Hub) and Mexico.
Each award ranges from 20,000 euros (US $26,000) to 70,000 euros (US $ 90,000), depending on how complex the solution or business models behind the ideas are.
Quoting Pekka Sivonen, Head of AppCampus, “By working jointly with the mobile innovation hubs, we are able to connect more effectively with local developers in emerging markets and provide support in terms of funding, especially for locally relevant innovations. Although the criteria to access the AppCampus funding remains the same, with ideas needing to be original, competitive and scalable. The advantage is faster processing and the mentorship provided by these innovation hubs.”
In this whole concept, the place of the hubs and mobile labs would be to scout talents and vet ideas to be submitted to the global pool. World Bank’s InfoDev mobile labs have so far helped to foster entrepreneurship, employment and competitiveness by providing open spaces where developers can find training, mentoring, technical expertise and access to funding.
Also agreeing with the latter, Jussi Hinkkanen, Vice President in charge of Nokia’s corporate relations in Middle East and Africa said: “Nokia, working closely with InfoDev, has supported the establishment and operation of a number of mobile labs across emerging markets in support of local developers. The AppCampus collaboration showcases our commitment to strengthening the growing mobile lab network around the world and InfoDev’s vision of supporting emerging market entrepreneurs in conquering local, regional, and global markets.”
The program was officially launched during the Global Forum on Innovation and Technology Entrepreneurship which took place in East London, South Africa. Organized by InfoDev in collaboration with the South African Department of Science and Technology, with a focus on how innovation can lead to tremendous growth of entrepreneurship, which would in turn create sustainable jobs.
As Valerie D’Costa, InfoDev’s program manager said, “The AppCampus initiative fits with the philosophy of InfoDev of supporting innovative entrepreneurs from developing countries. We want to support those who can excel with some level of mentorship, skills training and seed financing. We provide potential job creators better access to markets, which is what we are all about.”
The initiative is commendable as it further helps to support mobile developers in Africa and other emerging markets in their attempt to innovate through software development, therefore providing solutions to societal problems and creating jobs.
Source credit: Standard Digital
