Crowdsourcing An Application Repository

July 27, 2012 Editor 0

 By Rhoda Omenya, Anne  Salim and Albert Otieno

At iHub Research, we have begun an inventory of all the applications that have been created by Kenyans for use in Kenya. With so many applications (apps) being developed by the hour, there has been a need to have a central reference point, where developers and consumers can find relevant applications (regardless of platform – Android, iPhone, desktop applications) in one central place.

For developers, having a reference point where they can check out what applications have already been developed would help in avoiding replication of applications.

“Imagine all those man-hours I spent coding and developing my app, only to find that someone else had already developed it!” Anonymous.

What is the big picture here?

The application space is rapidly evolving with several applications being developed and downloaded daily. According to June 2012 statistics on appbrain’s website, the current number of Android applications in the global market is 466,509 whereas the percentage of low quality applications is 28%.

The iTunesAppstore records the following global statistics regarding applications in the store in June 2012:

• Total Active Applications (currently available for download): 669,835;
• Total Inactive Applications (no longer available for download): 185,291.

Developer statistics from Nokia indicate that the number of apps submitted to Marketplace has grown to more than 65,000 in 2012, from 7,000 in 2011.

Looking at the Kenyan Tech space, there have been several hackathons, bootcamps and events where applications have been developed. It is of interest to the research community, developers, and academia in the computer science sector to know what applications have been developed by Kenyans and in which areas they operate in.

Calling Developers:

If you have created an application that could or is useful to Kenyans, we are looking for your application.  Regardless of the application platform, whether it is web (desktop or mobile web) based on SMS or even USSD.  We want to add you to our repository so other application developers are aware of what is already up and running to avoid duplication.

There is also the possibility of increased application uptake by more Kenyans, you may perhaps even attract funding to upgrade the application. We believe the inventory will inspire the developers out there to see the application gaps in Kenya and get creative.

Click this Link and fill out the form.

 

 

Go to Source

Categories: mLab

Tags: app, application, kenya