Enter the 2020 MTN Business App of the Year Awards

Aspiring entrepreneurs and digital innovators are encouraged to apply for The MTN Business App of the Year Awards. 

As an annual event, the MTN Business App of the Year Awards has added the launched the MTN Business App Academy, which is a dedicated app development and coding initiative. 

The winner will win a trip valued at R200 000 to a tech-related destination

Aiming to mentor and upskill aspiring talent for a career in app development, The MTN Business App Academy will provide a six-week online coding programme.

This programme feeds into a new category for the app awards, specifically for the developers who went through the academy. This new academy aims to up skill South African youth in ICT, software, and mobile app development. 

Kholo Magagane, Head of Marketing, MTN Business comments on the impact of the MTN Business App of the Year Awards.

“The MTN Business App of the Year Awards eco-system continues to evolve and expand. It is now truly a year-long initiative focused on producing the highest caliber of cutting edge and market-ready solutions. At the same time, we are building and deepening a future pipeline of digital brilliance to ensure South Africa, its people, communities and the economy can harness the full benefits of the digital economy and the fourth industrial revolution.” 

Three of the top app’s from the MTN Business App Academy will be provided on-hand assistance and mentorship to develop their apps into fully-fledged solutions.

In addition “a go-to-market strategy” will be developed to implement the solutions. This will be done by identifying a customer who is faced with problems that the market-ready solutions can help solve. 

“We are very excited to be extending the reach and duration of the MTN Business App of the Year platform in 2020 – leading into 2021, and beyond. It is encouraging that we will be reaching new audiences and laying the foundations for more people in South Africa to benefit. As a champion of app development talent in South Africa, the MTN Business App of the Year Awards will continue to uncover and celebrate local impact-makers, and out-of-the-box tech thinking that drives disruption and change,” says Magagane.

How to enter

To enter, app developers can submit their entries before 29 September 2020 here. 

The eligible developers that have been selected for the academy will participate in a six-week online coding programme. Throughout this programme, the objective will be to solve a common social challenge facing the country such as access to education, safety and access to health. 

In the second phase of the competition, selected app developers will take part in a 72-hour “hackathon”. Participants will have to use their knowledge and skills to develop their solution with a team of tutors available to assist.

Solutions developed through the ‘hackathon’ will be entered into the ‘Best Breakthrough Developer’ and ‘Best Youth App’ categories and will be part of the overall awards judging process.

The competition will be carried out through a virtual process with more than 1000 leading app developments, ‘techies’and key industry stakeholders taking part. 

“We are looking forward to one of our best years yet as we broaden the ICT eco-system well beyond Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. I encourage all aspiring innovators and techies from across the country to enter and showcase their talent as we, together, expand and develop the ICT industry in a meaningful way,” concludes Magagane.

The overall winner of the awards will win a trip to a tech-related destination valued at R200 000. The top three ‘Best Youth App’ entrants will receive a share of R100 000, first place will walk away with R50 000, second place will receive R30 000 and R20 000 will be allocated for the third-place winner. 

The full App of the Year Awards category list is:

• Best Consumer Solution
• Best Women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics)
• Best Enterprise Solution
• Best Incubated Solution
• Most Innovative Solution
• Best Health Solution
• Best Gaming Solution
• Best Agricultural Solution
• Best Educational Solution
• Best Financial Solution
• Best ‘South African’ App
• The People’s Choice Award
• Best Breakthrough Developer (from the MTN Business App Academy)
• Best Youth App (18 – 26 years of age, from the MTN Business App Academy)
• (Overall) App of the Year winner

The awards ceremony will be stream lived on 29 October 2020.

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Featured image: David Švihovec via Unsplash