The global mobile app market is now worth over $50 billion. Although Africa
currently has the fastest-growing mobile phone market in the world, its mobile
app market is still hardly developed. Around the world, mobile apps are
increasingly used to bridge the gap between the growing needs and demands of
the population on the one hand and poor public service provision on the other.
A mobile app is a software application developed specifically to be used on
mobile phones. Today, apps provide a wide range of useful services and are
also a common source of entertainment. There are apps for almost anything you
can think of: information services, news, games, social networking, chatting and
even restaurant and airline bookings.
Here are a couple of interesting mobile apps that are making waves on the
African continent solving African problems:
Afrinolly , which was developed in 2011, allows users to catch up on
the latest entertainment news; follow movies, shows, and celebrities;
share thoughts via a host of social networking sites; and discover and
review movies and music videos. In less than a year after it was
released to the public, Afrinolly was downloaded nearly half a million
times.
SlimTrader allows users to buy or pay for goods and services via
SMS or WAP.
This app effectively helps its users to shop by text
messaging and is the first platform in Africa to do so. Founded in
2009, the service operates in Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria and South
Africa.
Icow
is an innovative mobile app powered by Safaricom which enables
dairy farmers in Kenya to keep tabs on their cows and find tips on best
practice. Data has shown farmers who used this app for up to seven
months begin to realise an increase in milk output of between two and to
three liters a day, which translates into an average increased income of
roughly $300 a year.
Action & Tips
Get familiar with most popular apps and recognize patterns that contribute to that success. You
could also get inspired by some of the really successful apps elsewhere in the world and
see if some of those concepts could be translated into something similar for Africa.
You can build your own simple app online on sites like appify.com, or get a freelancer –
for example, on elance.com – to do it for you.
Success Story
Chike Maduegbuna – Afrinolly (Nigeria)
Chike Maduegbuna, the founder and owner of Afrinolly, only created the app
in 2011 and today it has been downloaded over four million times. Her app
has transformed Nigeria’s Nollywood film industry by creating a movie
trailer platform for new audiences, and she hopes that it will also inspire
young film professionals who were aspiring to a career in Nigeria’s film
industry.
Hi, I just followed you :-) Follow back and we can help each other succeed! @hatu
why you dont upvote me?
Lets build good community and helping each other
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STOPnice post i barely wrote a post about a decentralized app (Dapp) where u can make bets
Wow! It's amazing too see how these new applications can become so popular. I'm glad to see helpful apps get a spotlight. Very nice of you
we should use problems as opportunities to increase our income