Lead the future: FNB backs Africa’s top app developers

Source: Supplied. Andiswa Bata, chief executive officer of FNB Business.

FNB App of the Year recognises and celebrates local-game changers while championing app development in Africa. Now in its 13th consecutive year, this platform continues to grow and evolve, empowering and enabling the next generation of tech startups.

“We are thrilled to lead as headline sponsors of the FNB App of the Year ecosystem. FNB continues to set new boundaries as leaders in innovation, having been crowned as the first App of the Year winners during the event’s inception in 2012, for our groundbreaking FNB App which not only revolutionised the local banking industry but set us on a path to be voted as the most innovative bank in the world on a number of occasions.” says Andiswa Bata, chief executive officer of FNB Business.

The FNB App of the Year awards consist of the App of the Year Roadshow, Submissions, App Academy, Virtual Hackathons, Masterclasses, Campus Cup, Judging Days, and the Awards Ceremony.

The Seta-accredited FNB App Academy culminates in a series of hackathons, including an explosive 72-hour virtual hackathon, where participants across the African continent develop apps to solve for a uniquely South African or African problem.

The ecosystem is completed through the esteemed FNB App of the Year awards event which brings together the very best in the tech industry, including fellow techies, SA’s and Africa’s leading app developers, industry stakeholders and sponsors.

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"The App of the Year Awards is Africa’s premier app-developer incubation and awards programme. What started in 2012 with 50 submissions and seven categories now receives thousands of submissions from across the continent.

"We couldn’t be prouder to have FNB as the headline sponsor of this developer ecosystem, one that produces opportunities and solutions across Africa,” says Sizwe Zim, director at Creative Space Media, the agency that conceptualised and launched these awards 14 years ago. “Together, we look forward to growing this unique and empowering platform."

The awards recognise best solutions across several categories namely, Consumer, Enterprise, Most Innovative, Game Changing, Health, Agricultural, Educational, Financial, Hackathon, Campus Cup, African, South African and Huawei category.

“The FNB App of the Year awards continue to nurture and unearth the development of African innovation and technology, uncovering some of our best-known apps and bringing together different sectors of society to solve a variety of social, economic, and business needs. Winners rapidly gain recognition and the opportunity to attract funding.

"We are not only leading by example but actively inviting others to follow suit on the path to technological excellence,” says Bata.