MTN Uganda has handed over the prize money to winners of the recently concluded MTN App Challenge 2015.
Four winning teams, one from each category (M-Health, M-Finance, M-Entertainment and M-Business), took home USD 2,500 each, with the fifth team – winner of the Audience Favorite category – taking home $1000.
The overall winners received a further $2,500, taking their total prize money to $5,000.
The challenge was won by Yoza, an Android app that connects those looking for laundry services with service providers using location based services. They have registered a number of service providers on their database and will use the app to connect them to people who need their services.
The winning applications were selected at the end of a challenging 48 hours of the most electrifying, inspiring weekend of innovative and idea generation, during which sleep became a distant memory. A total of 18 teams participated in the MTN App challenge.
At closing ceremony for the 3-day hackathon, held on Sunday 31st May 2015, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Uganda Brian Gouldie stressed MTN’s commitment to using platforms such as the MTN App challenge to help youth find gainful employment.
“As Uganda continues to battle challenges like youth unemployment, MTN looks to leverage its position as an industry leader in technology, to offer youth opportunities to create locally relevant service solutions that can be commercialized to create employment and allow them to start their own business,” said Brian Gouldie.
“In line with our vision to deliver a bold, new digital world, we’re looking to continue concentrating our efforts on the creation of brand new digital applications to enrich customer experience and deliver value for our customers while contributing to the nation’s development and economic agenda in – the core sectors of Finance, Health and Education,” he added.
MTN Uganda will this year also launch an Innovation Lab,a pioneering space that will allow users to use MTN’s technology to experiment and create new innovations; this being a key indicator of the company’s commitment to lead the way in ICT Innovation.
Most of the applications developed over the weekend run on Android and utilize MTN Mobile Money as a payment gateway for most of the services they’ve developed, which presents a further opportunity for MTN.
All the winners will be guided by MTN Uganda on a commercialization journey through which the apps they conceptualized and showcased will be developed to become market-ready.
The Winners:
- Best M-Health App ($2,500):
Name of App: Run for Your Life
Team Leader: Adeline Tushabe
Run for your life is a 3D mobile game built to create awareness about HIV, other chronic diseases and general health care. It facilitates delivery of health information by letting users answer some questions to redeem their game-life as the play a mobile racing game.
Failure (while playing) gives you questions while success gives you various tips.
- Best M-Business ($2,500):
Name of App: Yoza
Team Leader: Nicholas Kamanzi
Yoza is an Android App that provides laundry services to people who needs them. It targets single youth between 18 and 30. They’ve listed a number of service providers and will use the app to connect them to people who need the app.
The app utilizes “Yoza Credit” which is a coupon system (loyalty program) to encourage people to use the services.
- Best M-Entertainment($2,500):
Name of App: Common Sense
Team Leader: Ssali Emma
The app challenges you by getting you to answer questions and you win points for all correct answers. The points can be used to win tangible products based on the sponsor you chose to play for.
- Best M-Finance ($2,500):
Name of App: MamboPay
Team Leader: Charles Muhindo
MamboPay is a coupon-based payment solution that enables individuals or organizations to send funds to various beneficiaries in terms of coupons. Coupons are tied to a specific purpose and can only be redeemed at partner service providers for that specific purpose.
It can facilitate payment for health services, for example, by letting a sponsor generate a fixed-value coupon to be redeemed at any of the registered health service providers.
- Audience’s Favorite ($1,000):
Name of App: Dawa App
Team Leader: Duncan Sanya
It’s an app that provides access to patient’s medical information on the go while allowing a patient to dial a health professional at any time and from anywhere.
- Overall Winner ($2,500):
Name of App: Yoza App