Since October 2011, Jonathan Gosier, TED Fellow and CEO of AppAfrica International supported by Spotone Global Solutions, led by group CEO Marieme Jamme, have been travelling across Africa to organise brainstorming sessions for the 2011 Apps4Africa contest, which this year has focused on Climate Change challenges. Events have been held in many countries, including Senegal, Mali, Ghana, Nigeria and the DRC.

As part of its commitment alongside African partners to address the challenges raised by climate change, the U.S. Department of State announced the West and Central Africa winners of the Apps4Africa: Climate Challenge in Durban, South Africa on December 7, 2011. Apps4Africa consists of three regional competitions – held in West & Central, East and Southern Africa – that seek to find the best new web-based and mobile applications designed to address local climate change challenges. These contests build on the outcomes of regional climate change adaptation workshops organized by the Adaptation Partnership, which includes the United States and more than 20 other countries.

The Apps4Africa: Climate Challenge builds on the success of the 2010 Apps4Africa: Civic Challenge, in which civil society challenged program developers to find innovative technological solutions to everyday problems on issues ranging from transparency and governance to health and education.

This year’s winning applications were announced at the U.S. Center at the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference in Durban. The announcement was part of an event highlighting country-driven solutions to climate change adaptation in Africa, demonstrating that the United States is working with partners to bring together practitioners, policy-makers, and African technology innovators to address climate change challenges through programs such as the global Adaptation Partnership and Apps4Africa.

First place in the West and Central Africa Apps4Africa went to HospitalManager, a web-based application from Nigeria that will help hospitals prepare for the possibility of more frequent extreme weather events such as storms, floods, and heat waves. Second place went to the EcoFund-Forum, a web-based app from Senegal that helps communities share successful strategies for adapting to local impacts of climate change. The third prize winner was Farmerline, a mobile and web-based app that will help farmers in rural Ghana obtain the information they need to increase yields in the face of changes in the growing season and climate variability. Winners will receive cash prizes. Private partners, including TED, and Indigo Trust, are contributing follow-on support.

In order to be eligible, applications were required to fall under the following categories: agriculture (distribution), food security/early warning and/or disaster preparedness, resource management, water, flooding, forestry/deforestation, transportation/traffic/emissions, livestock and health and sanitation.

The East Africa Apps4Africa contest closes December 20, 2011, and winners will be announced in January 2012. The Southern Africa competition runs from February 1, 2012 through March 31, 2012, with the winners to be announced in April.

For Information about the contest and future Apps4Africa Competition across Africa Contact Marieme Jamme at marieme@SpotoneGlobalSolutions.com Tel: +447595882717  or Jonathan D. Gosier at Jongos@gmail.com Tel: +1 (520) 301-7906
Website: www.apps4africa.org