Apps4Africa

Apps4Africa is a competitive funding program for African technologists who compete for grant awards of up to $15,000 for projects that use technology to solve local or global problems.

A4A sponsors include the U.S. Department Of State and The World Bank. The goal of Apps4Africa is to promote 'African solutions to African problems' by rewarding African technologists seeking to impact society with their inventions. The competition asks civil society and citizens throughout the continent to submit local community challenges on issues like transparency and better governance, health, education and more. The project began in late 2009 with a partnership formed between Appfrica and the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of African Affairs, Office of Public Diplomacy (AF/PDPA) as part of the Obama administration's 21st Century Statecraft initiative.

In 2010, United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton congratulated the winners of the first Apps4Africa competition. In 2011 the competition winners were announced at The 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In 2012 Hillary Clinton kicked-off the third Apps4Africa competition with another encouraging message.

Past Competitions

The Apps4Africa competition has been held since 2010.

2010 Civic Challenge

The winners of the 2010 Apps4Africa competition were: iCow, Kleptocracy Fighters, Mamakiba. A total of $15,000 in funding in addition to prizes from sponsors like Google was awarded.

2011 Climate Challenge

Apps4Africa focused on three regions. The East Africa winners were: The Grainy Bunch (Mini-Shop), Mkulima Bora, and Agro-Universe. The West Africa winners were: Farmerline, Ecofund Forum, and Hospital Manager. The Southern Africa winners: MyHealth, Service Anti-Cyclone and UnsApp. A total of $75,000 in funding was awarded to these winners.