Ooredoo and the Applied Innovation Institute have announced the regional final winners of the second Arab Mobile App Challenge (AMAC) at an event held in Dubai recently.
Launched in 2013, the Arab Mobile App Challenge enables teams of up to six members under the age of 35 to develop mobile apps designed to make an impact in the education, health, entertainment and employability/entrepreneurship sectors.
This year was the first time that the challenge has been open to teams from the entire pan-Arab region, and out of nearly 700 applications - up from 150 applications last year - 22 teams from 12 Arab countries were selected to participate at the regional final competition held last month.
The programme aims to introduce and educate young Arabs about entrepreneurship and the path to launching a start-up, as well as enhancing their business skills and design abilities.
Speaking as one of the lead sponsors, Dr Nasser Marafih, Group CEO, Ooredoo said: “What I find most impressive about this year’s regional finalists is that the vast majority of the applications are all about enriching people’s lives.”
“Ooredoo began its support for the Arab Mobile App Challenge because we believe in helping young people to realise their potential, improve their own careers and give back to their communities, which is exactly what this pan-Arab edition of the challenge has enabled these young people to do. I look forward to seeing their ideas at the 2015 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and wish them all the very best of luck.”
During the daylong event, participants took part in panel discussions on entrepreneurship and start-ups, as well learning about the process for launching a new app. Teams then had five minutes to pitch their ideas to a panel of eco-system providers, technology experts, educationalists and accessibility specialists.
Four teams took home a financial prize aimed to set their ideas in motion, while seven teams advanced to compete at the Global Mobile Challenge, which will be held during the 2015 Mobile World Conference in Barcelona.
A hardware kit that enables kids and non-technical people invent technology called “Snowball” took the first place, winning a prize of $25,000.
Second place went to “Supermama,” a multiplatform application that aims to strengthen the special connection between mothers and their babies, by providing mothers with personalised content about the growth and health of their babies. The Supermama team, from Algeria, was awarded $15,000.
Accessibility was a big theme at this year’s challenge with a number of special awards going to applications that support people with special needs. “Learn with Teacher May,” an educational app for people with learning disabilities developed in Saudi Arabia, won the Pearson Educational Award, while the Mada Accessibility Award presented by the Qatar Assistive Technology Centre, went to “Mimix”, an innovative app that translates speech and typing into animated sign language on a mobile.
Ideas advancing to compete on a global stage at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona included “Messo,” a memory-capturing tool from Qatar; and “Atahub” from Kuwait, an online hub for volunteer work and community involvement.
Other successful apps included “Hero from the Past” from Tunisia, an educational 3D game and “Hadzup,” a high priority notification platform from Lebanon.
At the end of the second Regional Final for the Arab Mobile Challenge, Dr Paris Del’etraz of the Applied Innovation Institute said: “AMAC has now concluded its second year of bringing a unique entrepreneurial mindset and hope to hundreds of young people across the Middle East, nothing is more gratifying than this.”
Ooredoo supports a rich portfolio of youth entrepreneurial initiatives across its footprint, and is a founding partner of the Arab Mobile App Challenge.
First prize winners at the award ceremony.
