Team Shinsekai wins Ericsson's 'Apps for African City Life' Award

13 Feb 2013

Ericsson have announced the winners of the 'Apps for African City Life' competition. Team Shinsekai from Senegal won first prize for developing an app that aims to support environmental sanitation and hygiene development in cities.

Dadja Matiasso Bassou, project leader for team Shinsekai said, "Winning this competition is an accomplishment of our work and a reward for our strong conviction in what we are doing. We believe information technology can really help in keeping Africa's beauty and its people safe."

The 'Apps for African City Life' award was designed to inspire innovation and promote the development of mobile applications that address the demands of business and daily life in urban centers across Africa's Networked Society.

Ericsson's sub-Saharan Africa marketing and strategy head, Shiletsi Makhofane said "Applications are an integral part of our vision for the Networked Society. Team Shinsekai developed an application that addresses global sustainability, and will improve the quality of life on the continent. We applaud them, and share the team's commitment to connecting people across Africa and beyond to a better life."

Second and third prizes went to two Kenyan teams, Easy Parking for their application aimed at helping motorists locate and pay for available parking areas thus reducing fuel consumption, and Tokelezea for their app which enables individuals to locate events and places around them and share the information with their friends.

The competition was run as part of the 2013 Ericsson Application Awards, an annual global competition for application developers. All participants in the regional competition are also automatically entered into the global competition where they stand a chance to win €25 000.