MoMo partners Microsoft Nigeria, Nokia and Verve to Launch its Developers Contest

Mobile Monday Nigeria (MoMo) in partnership with Microsoft Nigeria, Nokia and Verve has formally declared open its contest for Nigerian apps developers and designers (known as “Devigners”) tagged DevCon Alpha. The contest is designed to challenge local developers and graphic designers to jointly create locally relevant, visually appealing and commercially viable apps developed on either Microsoft Windows 8 Mobile or Windows Phone platforms.

[quote_box_center]The contest is designed to challenge local developers and graphic designers to jointly create locally relevant, visually appealing and commercially viable apps developed on either Microsoft Windows 8 Mobile or Windows Phone platforms.[/quote_box_center]

The contest which aims to bring together app developers and designers (called Devigners) to create locally relevant, visually appealing and commercially viable apps developed on either Windows 8 Mobile or Windows Phone platforms is open to three categories of entries; existing apps from Devigners and retailers that meet the eligibility criteria and available for showcase at the closing event; apps from local Devigners that meet the contests assessment criteria and are registered in the Windows App Store; proof of concept demos from Devigners who have conceptual models of applications that can meet the DevCon criteria.

Microsoft’s partnership with Mobile Monday Nigeria is a result of the company’s 4Afrika initiative aimed at providing Africans with world class skills, access and innovation. These aims were highlighted during the DevCon Alpha launch event by Oyeshina Oyetosho, Developer and Evangelism Lead, Microsoft Nigeria.  “We decided to participate in the project because we noticed there is a gap in the technology ecosystem.  To help close the gap, we are giving trainings, offering free access in as many ways as we can to enable developers create applications that are usable, scalable, visually appealing, locally relevant and more importantly, challenge them to monetise their creativity which we trust will make them employers of labour. This way, they can contribute their quota to the growth of the Nigerian economy”.

At a press briefing during the launch of the contest, H. ’Tomi Davies, Chairman of Mobile Money Nigeria said, “Our vision is to see Nigeria become a key player in the technology space and what better way to achieve this by getting our youth to create apps on the Windows platform that will compete with those of their foreign counterparts.  With DevCon Alpha, we hope to begin the development of a new generation of Nigerians that will challenge the domination of foreign players in the Nigerian software market.”

Speaking on the partnership, Emmanuel Oluwatosin, Developer Experience Lead at Nokia West Africa explained that the competition which will run for 4 weeks would encourage the participants to use the widely accepted Lumia range of phones for their apps.

Earlier in her speech, Oremeyi Akah, Country Manager of Verve International said, “We want to support CBN to push the cashless policy as well as offer commercial support to those developers with fantastic ideas to enable them compete internationally while solving local demands”.

Entries for DevCon Alpha will be judged by a panel of experts who will assess the software applications User Experience, Scalability, Design and Commercial viability.