Africa App Quest: the search for the best travel app in Africa

Research commissioned by the World Bank has predicted that Sub-Saharan Africa’s travel and tourism industry is expected to achieve an annual growth rate of 5.5% over the next ten years.

The world average, by comparison, is a paltry 4.1%.

Taking this into account, Visa – the global payments technology company – and South African Tourism (SAT) have officially cut the ribbon on the Africa App Quest (AAQ).

In the form of a competition, the AAQ is a challenge to developers to build the continent’s best mobile travel app compatible with iOS, Android and Windows. The winner – deemed to have best used technology to improve and increase travel in Africa – will take home US$10 000.

Jodie Schorn, head of Cross-Border Marketing for Visa Sub-Saharan Africa had this to say, “we encourage all developers – whether up-and-coming or already established in the industry – to get involved in the Africa App Quest. This is a great way for developers to make a name for themselves in the global travel and tech community.”

The competition only runs until 16 August, giving developers just about a full five months to get their app completed. This is quite a tall order for developers building their app from scratch, especially if it has to run natively on all platforms.

What’s more likely to happen is that travel apps already in the market (or in further along in the development phase) will be adapted to all platforms or improved upon in design and functionality. Software developing companies though, who have experts in-house, might be able to roll out a new app from scratch if they have the manpower to achieve the deadline.

It comes down to the complexity of the apps. Anything from online safari guides to online booking and shopping tools will be accepted. And so the real challenge to developers is to take the Africa App Quest’s parameters into account, and be smart about the type of travel app they build.

US$10 000 and global exposure could well be worth it.

For more information, or to enter, developers can go here.