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'Make cash the apps way'

Local entrepreneurs should seriously consider flocking to the industry that develops cellphone and tablet applications.

LOCAL entrepreneurs should seriously consider flocking to the industry that develops cellphone and tablet applications.

This is the view of Pratapa Bernard, vice president and head of Vodafone emerging markets.

Bernard said entrepreneurs aiming to venture into the industry should have a vision of building products centred on addressing various needs of consumers.

"The industry is not really looking for a particular profile of entrepreneurs. It does not matter whether you are a small or big business," Bernard said on the sidelines of the Vodafone App Star competition.

The international inaugural challenge attracted 3,000 developers from the Middle East and Africa.

The first and second prize of the competition went to developers from Kenya, while the third prize went to a South African, Rudolph Joubert.

The Kenyans designed an adventure game focusing on the country's heritage and an app that solves mathematical challenges.

Joubert came up with a Ster-Kinekor app that helps movie-goers book seats from their mobile devices.

Bernard said although there was a hugh role South African entrepreneurs could play in the app development space, many developers struggled to exploit the feature phones market.

"If South Africans focused on feature phones apps that could solve consumer needs, build mobile services through the understanding of the local context, they could make money from the industry."

He said potential app developers could freely register with Vodacom to take advantage of the opportunities presented by app industry.

- sibanyonim@sowetan.co.za

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