As a platform for innovation and entrepreneurship for aspiring students and developers, it is an ideal site for the new apps lab.
This follows the opening of the apps labs in Cape Town at the Bandwidth Barn in November 2012, and at the University of Pretoria in May 2012.
"With backing from heavyweights in the tech industry and close proximity to the universities of the Witwatersrand and Johannesburg, it is a perfect location for the country's third apps lab," said Alexandra Zagury, MD for South Africa and Southern Africa at BlackBerry.
"We are looking forward to fostering mobile innovation in Johannesburg by supporting even more training and support for South African application developers."
The aim of the apps labs is to help accelerate mobile application development in South Africa and create new opportunities in the mobile space. In doing so, the company is working with all stakeholders to bolster the South African mobile innovation eco-system.
This aligns with the objectives of the South African Department of Communications' (DOC) eSkills Institute to stimulate research, development and innovation.
The labs provide local developers, including students, start-ups, entrepreneurs and others, with access to resources in development, marketing, sales and training to help them expand their ideas and business opportunities.
"We look forward to working with the company to mobilise our resident developer community, including students, researchers and faculties adjacent to our premises, the universities of Johannesburg and Witwatersrand," said Annie Lopes, JoziHub community manager.
The apps labs form part of the company's extensive developer programme that spans Africa. It has been working with 80 universities, colleges and schools across Africa through its academic program, which provides institutions with materials and content to teach and educate students on mobile application development. It plans to open a developer lab in Nigeria later this year.
