Innovation in mobile applications spurred by World Bank and Nokia
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We talk rather often about how mobile phones are an important part of life in Africa. Developing countries like Africa and India are simply leapfrogging from no phones to cell phones, and they're proving to be a vital way to get information to people, connecting people to everything from banks to doctors that they wouldn't otherwise have access to. And because cell phones are becoming such a vital part of daily life, so too are mobile apps.
That's why World Bank and Nokia are joining efforts to start up mobile apps laboratories in Africa to give a kick start to innovative thinking and software development that can improve lives.
Computer World reports that the World Bank's infoDev global grant unit has supported the creation of Mobile Monday Kampala chapter, which is a global community of mobile industry professionals, startups, developers and visionaries who will put their heads and resources together to create apps that help connect cell phone owners with the services they need, and help entrepreneurs in the mobile apps industry scale up their startups.
"We hope to increase the competitiveness of innovative enterprises in the mobile content and applications area, and to ensure that locally relevant applications are created to meet growing developing country user demands," says Tim Kelly, the lead ICT specialist at The Word Bank's infoDev global grant unit.
Starting in sub-Saharan Africa and spreading over time, the labs project hopes to benefit the mobile industry in Africa, equipment manufacturers, and those who work within the industry. And of course, the ultimate beneficiaries will be the people who utilize the apps created by the new companies. The hope is to have a total of four Mobile Monday laboratories up and running by the end of this year.
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