Google Announces Winners for the Android Developer Challenge for Sub-Saharan Africa

In July, Google had announced the top 29 applications, provided them new phones, mentoring from Googlers and six weeks to improve their applications. From those 29, the three winners have been announced.  

Each winner will be awarded $25,000 to help them build and grow their business, and will receive additional mentoring from Google employees to help them make their app even better. The judges also gave honorable mention to finalist apps Rainbow Racer and Wedding Plandroid; the developers of those apps will each receive $5,000.

All three winning apps, both honorable mention apps, and many of our finalist apps are or will soon be available on Android Market.

The Winners:

Entertainment/Media/Games

 Afrinolly – Nigeria
Team: FansConnectOnline Limited
Afrinolly brings African movies to your pocket, allowing you to watch movie trailers, read entertainment news and gossip, track celebs, listen to music and share it all with your friends.

Social/Communication

Olalashe – Kenya
Team: David Lemayian, Capefield Ltd.
Olalashe (which means “brother” in Maasai) is a geo-alert application that can help you communicate when you’re in trouble, through a widget that can send your location and a pre-set message to your ‘In Case of Emergency’ contacts with the push of a button.

Productivity

Shoppers’ Delight – Kenya
Team: Elan Telemedia Ltd
Shoppers’ Delight is a shopping application that allows shoppers to compare product prices across different area supermarkets. The app also helps shoppers discover bargains and relevant sales, and access maps and health information.