Technology entrepreneurs and developers from across Africa recently participated in the Google I/O 2013 event in San Francisco to explore the latest in technology innovations.
Many of the participants were reportedly members of the Google Developer groups, which came from countries including Algeria, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Kenya, the Republic of Congo, and Uganda.
“Luckily participation was not limited to those who could make it to San Francisco’s Moscone Centre; developers back home were also able to get in on the action with more than 67 I/O (Input/Output) extended parties hosted by Google Developer Groups and Google Student Ambassadors across the continent where talks were streamed live to an excited audience,” said Chukwuemeka Afigbo, outreach program manager for Google Sub-Saharan Africa.
Google has since added six new applications to their African case studies page.
The applications include Virtual Kenya and Maji Dashboards by Upande. These are described as websites utilising Google’s Geo tools, which makes Kenyan information accessible for better development planning, decision making and education.
ReadyCash by Parkway Projects, a mobile money service equipped with an application, which leverages the Android platform for the integration of a unique Quick-Response (QR) code based payment system. ReadyCash hails from Nigeria.
Matatu is best described as a digital version of a local card game from Uganda on the Android platform.
ASiM, developed by Olivine Technology, is described as a “real time inventory management solution with an Android client and App Engine backend”.
Asa was created by Genii Games in Nigeria, which is an Android tablet app featuring folktales for children.
AfriNolly, the application by Frans Connect Online, was the winner of the 2011 Android developer competition, and has reportedly garnered more than two million downloads through several different platforms.
The new Android version now supports 12 languages and was launched in May this year.
HumanIPO reported earlier today Google is developing a games console and wristwatch powered by Android. Last week Google recognised 84 recipients of the Google Anita Borg Memorial Scholarship and Google Scholarship for Students with Disabilities in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
