Huawei earmarks $230,000 for MEA developers as part of Global App Innovation Contest

Posted on August 28, 2022 by Design in Design Innovation | 0 Comments

Under the theme ‘Together we Innovate’, Huawei recently inaugurated the 2022 edition of the Huawei Global App Innovation Contest (Apps UP). This year’s edition features a new category, “Best Arabic App”, encouraging regional developers to create app solutions that address the region’s needs and enrich Arabic content.

The 2022 Huawei Global App Innovation Contest is a global event held by Huawei to strengthen the skills of regional app developers and drive collaboration to build a connected app ecosystem. Apps UP 2022 competition includes five regions: Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, Middle East and Africa, and China. The top three outstanding apps in the Arabic language or apps that support the dialectal selection will take home the Best Arabic App award.

With this year’s theme, #TogetherWeInnovate, Huawei has set aside more than US$1 million as prize money for the global contest, in addition to exciting incentives, including vouchers from AppGallery Connect. US$230,000 has been dedicated to developers in the Middle East and Africa, with individual prizes amounting from US$5,000 to US$15,000. Participants also get the opportunity to engage and learn from industry experts and have their apps evaluated by a judging panel of experts in several sectors. AppGallery is one of the three top application marketplaces, and developers on the platform can reach 730 million global Huawei device users. They also join a growing community of 5.4 million registered Huawei developers worldwide.

The categories include the Best App, Best Game, Best Social Impact App, All-Scenario Coverage Award, Tech Women’s Award and the Best Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) Innovation Award. The HMS Innovation Award encourages developers to create apps that integrate new HMS capabilities and services. In parallel, the Student Innovation Award recognises outstanding student developers that showcase innovative creations.

Ammar Tobba, VP, Public Affairs and Communications, Huawei Middle East Region, Director of Arabic Media Centre, and a judging panel member said, “The Apps UP competition is in line with Huawei’s efforts to empower developers from the Arab world and to inspire new ideas. Through the Best Arabic App category, we aim to encourage talents within the regional app development communities to create locally-relevant digital solutions that can have a global impact.”

The Best Arabic App category reflects Huawei’s contribution and value to the local digital ecosystem and recognises the significance of the Arabic language in the digital age. The Apps UP contest also aligns with regional and national agendas that center on nurturing local talents and developing national capabilities, upskilling, reskilling and building a collaborative workforce of the future.

In addition to the ICT Academy, The Best Arabic App is one of Huawei’s top three Arabic-language CSR projects in the region. Apps UP 2022 transforms learning into practice and provides another opportunity to innovate with Huawei.

The Contest is one of several initiatives by Huawei geared toward nurturing talent for Middle East youth. Other initiatives such as, the Huawei ICT Academy, Seeds for the Future program, Huawei ME ICT Competition and its subordinate Innovation Competition, and joint innovation labs with universities, thousands of young people in the region benefit from an advanced skills development pipeline every year. These initiatives equip the youth with the necessary skills required to contribute to their countries’ digital transformation, socio-economic development and national plans and visions.