Announcing the Apps4Africa Southern Africa Winners

15 Jun

This morning at Africa Gathering London 2012 the winners of the Southern Africa portion of the Apps4Africa competition were announced!

1st $15,000 - myHealth (Botswana) - Donald Taboka Masole, Patricia Motsumi, Mosetsanagape Motlhabane

Helps users take precautions by providing information about weather and diseases related to the weather like diarea and malaria.  Then it helps the user schedule an appointment with a doctor to receive appropriate care.

2nd $7,000 - Service Anti Cyclone (Madagascar) - Andrianomanana Endrehina, Marie Laure Rahaingomalala, Jean Baptiste Paul Joseph Arsène, Fenitra Andrianomanana, Miora Sarobidy, Haingonirina Marie Violette, Faniry Andriamampianina

Alerts users to pending cyclones, which are very common, and cause significant damage to the area.

3rd $3,000 - UnsApp (Zimbabwe) - Hugh Sado, Mercy sado, Tinashe Marshall Sado, Tonderai Marshall Sado

Spreads awareness through a web forum where adaptive management techniques maybe be considered in improving food security in the future.

Honorable Mention - Varimi - Tanaka Mutakwa (Zimbabwean), Chido Warambwa (Zimbabwean), Chanda Pwapwa (Zambian)

Varimi Portal pushes out key farming information to its registered users to help them adapt, for instance weather projections or answers to commonly asked agricultural questions.

Honorable Mention - Oraniq (tie) - Tonderai Shamuyarira

Promotes information about using chemicals to farmers in hopes that they will produce organic foods instead of chemical enhanced crops.

Honorable Mention - AgriLife (tie) - RAMAROSON Rindra Harifidy, RANDRIAMIADANA Derasoa, RASOLOARITAFIKA Mahefa Nirina, RAVELOARISOA Noro Lalao

Urges users to participate in reforestation projects to help locals recover from cyclone damage in Madagascar.

Tags: , , , , ,

Join the Apps4Africa Hub!

3 May

The Apps4Africa Hub is a community for those who participated in a previous Apps4Africa contest, those who have won an A4A contest, or those who wish to participate in future contests. The Hub is also a place where anyone who has an interest can interact with the Apps4Africa participants. Are you looking to interact with local luminaries who tackle Africa’s hardest problems using technology, then join the community!

Start a conversation, share a big idea, or collaborate with software developers from all over the African continent!

Join our vibrant community of African developers at Hub.Apps4Africa.org

Tags: , , , ,

African Social Networks Thrive in a Mobile Culture

22 Apr

Article on the ambitions of 2010 Apps4Africa winner iCow.

-

New and fast-growing mobile social networks could challenge Facebook’s growth on the continent.

When young maize crops began failing in parts of Kenya earlier this month, the bad news—as well as information about where farmers could get seeds for other crops—spread on many Internet sites, including Facebook, which has 38 million users in Africa.

But it was a mobile platform called iCow—which allows 11,000 farmers and other members to receive livestock-management and other agricultural information—that helped cover the crucial “last mile” to older farmers. When a message from iCow passed along a tip already posted on Facebook about disease-free seeds available from the Kenya Agri Research Institution, that institution was, within two hours, besieged with hundreds of calls.

“Facebook has got the younger farmers on it, and iCow has the older farmers on it. We can bridge that gap to the older farmers who don’t have access to Facebook and don’t use the Internet,” said Su Kahumbu, the founder of iCow.

The episode is a reminder of the limits of Facebook, and of the role that small, mobile platforms and mobile-focused social networks can play, especially in the mobile-centric and culturally and ethnically nuanced African market.

via African Social Networks Thrive in a Mobile Culture - Technology Review.

Tags: , , ,

Apps4Africa Interviewed by Ghana’s Uniiq FM

20 Apr

The winners and staff of Apps4Africa were recently interviewed by Uniiq FM in Accra, Ghana.

Tags: , , ,

The Next Green Revolution: Is There An App for That?

20 Apr

This panel discussion was recorded at the Future Tense event: Feeding the World While the Earth Cooks, which was held in Washington, DC on April 12th, 2012

Lynn Roche - @apps4africa, Planning and Coordination Officer, Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Office Bureau of African Affairs, U.S. Department of State

Moderator: Charles Kenny - @charlesjkenny, Bernard L. Schwartz Fellow, New America Foundation, Author “Getting Better: Why Global Development Is Succeeding — And How We Can Improve the World Even More”

When today’s toddlers are parents themselves, they will face an agricultural crisis. The world population will reach 9 billion. A growing global middle class will demand more food. And climate change will leave farmers holding seeds that won’t sprout. By 2050, will our global appetite outgrow our agricultural capacity? We held an event to find out how everyone—growers, technologists, governments, business leaders, and carbon-conscious consumers—will be part of the solution.

Tags: , , , , ,

The Tech Incubator in the Ocean

17 Apr

Unreasonable@Sea 2 Minute Video! from Unreasonable Institute on Vimeo.

Apps 4 Africa is proud to have recently partnered with a new tech accelerator program, www.UnreasonableatSea.com.  As part of this partnership, we wanted to let you know that they just announced the program and have opened their applications!

Unreasonable at Sea is a mentor driven accelerator program for entrepreneurs who desire to take their ventures into new international markets. They are working exclusively with technology based companies who are working to solve the greatest social and environmental challenges of this century. What makes this so Unreasonable? The 100 day accelerator program will take place on a ship as it travels more than 25,000 nautical miles and circumnavigates the Southern Hemisphere (see the route).  If you fit the profile, or you can think of an entrepreneur you know who does, make certain to check out all the details at www.unreasonableatsea.com.

On the Air!

6 Apr

Shots from our trip to GBC FM’s (the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation) Radio Ghana where each of the winners of our competition were interviewed.

On the air!

Pictured (from left to right): Assane Seck (Eco-fund Forum), Alloysius Attah (Farmerline), Victor Ogo Ekweume (Hospital Manager)

To and from

Sanya Duncan (Agro Universe)

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 3,175 other followers