Samsung in patnership with @iLab Africa Unveil Eight New locally developed Apps
Samsung Electronics East Africa, in partnership with @iLab Africa, has today unveilled eight new locally developed mobile applications (apps) during the 2nd edition of the Samsung Apps Show N’ Tell.
The Apps have been designed by young Kenyan app developers as part of the ongoing partnership between Samsung Electronics East Africa and Strathmore University.
The Apps Show N’ Tell event is an event that brings together local app developers and provides a platform for them to showcase their innovations as part of a research and development programme run by Strathmore University’s @iLab Africa, a research and incubation facility that supports entrepreneurship programs in apps and software development.
Here are the locally developed Apps unveiled today:-
- App Wakili – designed to ease access to legal information in Kenya, this app allows users to search lawyers registered with the Law Society of Kenya, their contacts, and areas of expertise including corporate law, dispute resolution, regional and international law, among others
- National Assembly and County Assembly App – allows the Kenya National Assembly and County Assembly to access the standing orders and order paper on tablets and mobile phones, ensuring continuity of in-house business and cutting costs related to printing order papers. The app also allows legislators to vote on a subject/debate
- Laikipia Wildlife Forum App – this was developed to compliment environment conservation efforts within Laikipia. The app provides information on sites and attractions within the area, eases navigation to the different sites and maps out donor funded projects that both local and international tourists may be interested in supporting
- KCA University App – targeted at students of the university, the app delivers content to students, ranging from information on extra-curricular activities such as clubs and sports to access to the school’s library system. The app also allows for course registration and enrolment of new students
- Kenya Wildlife Service Guide App – enables tourists locate national parks, conservancies, reserves and amenities within the parks
- Halal Kenya App – in recognition of the importance of Halal certification to the Muslim community, this app provides a listing of Halal-certified establishments and their locations, and allows users to review them. The app also enables users to report non-Halal practices being carried out at establishments purporting to be Halal to the Kenya Halal Bureau
- Uganda Legal App – targeted at law students, lawyers, judges and magistrates, this app eases access to legal information in Uganda. Information available includes: judiciary calendar, Ugandan constitution (1995), cases and rulings, and gazette notices
- Pharmacy & Poisons Board (PPB) App – this app enables PPB inspectors register and validate pharmacies and their employees in real time and make the information available to the public. It also provides information on registered pharmacies, a key component of ensuring that the safety of Kenyans visiting pharmacies and using the drugs and other chemical substances sold at these pharmacies is not compromised.
Samsung Electronics East Africa Director of Mobile and IT Manoj Changarampatt , said the apps were proof that the partnership between Samsung and @iLab Africa was bearing fruit.
“We are very pleased to see our efforts coming to fruition, proof that we have both the ideas and skill to develop innovative apps that speak to the needs of the local and regional tech consumers,” Mr. Changarampatt said.
To build the apps developers are encouraged to undertake in-depth research to establish whether their ideas are viable, and are then linked to vital sources of information to help them develop applications informed by real needs to ensure that there is a market for them. Once they have the information the students work under the guidance of experienced developers and faculty at @iLab Africa, where they benefit from funding, skills sharing and in-roads into the market place.
“Many of the students we work with are naturally gifted in app development, being themselves consumers of mobile applications and therefore understanding what fellow consumers need and how they want it presented to them for use,” said Dr. Joseph Sevilla – Director, @iLab Africa. “Our goal is to create a crop of app developers who have the creativity to spur innovation in app development, and who can either be employed by tech giants such as Samsung or become entrepreneurs in their own right.”
With mobile phone usage growing and an estimated 67% of mobile phones sold in Kenya classified as smart phones, the market for local apps continues to grow steadily and is now being touted as a key driver of Kenya’s ambition of becoming an African ICT hub by 2030.
Samsung has been partnering with @iLab Africa for the past three years and has in this time contributed towards the development and launch of over 80 mobile applications, majority of which are already in use and are available for download exclusively on Samsung devices via Samsung GALAXY Apps.
