Huawei partners with local app developers to push SA content

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JOHANNESBURG - Chinese multinational telecommunications giant Huawei said on Monday that it had partnered with 48 local developers of mobile apps, and was still looking for more, in a drive to promote South African digital talent on its mobile app store. Huawei Mobile Services was launched in South Africa in June last year. Since then, both the mobile app store Huawei AppGallery and Huawei Themes have become increasingly popular with the local market. Lu Geng, director of Huawei consumer cloud service for southern Africa region, said 48 developers have recently registered their apps with Huawei following a Developers' Day where Huawei executives met with South African developers to discuss Huawei's offering. "South African consumers are increasingly wanting more apps that are relevant to their unique circumstances, addressing issues they experience regularly – such as load shedding or safety concerns – but also apps that celebrate South Africa’s multitude of cultures and this vibrant country," Lu said. Akhram Mohamed, chief technology officer of Huawei consumer business group South Africa, said Huawei was committed to catering to the needs of South African consumers, but also said they know that they do not have all the answers.

"For this reason, we aim to work closely with South African developers so that we can give our users everything that they need and want from their devices," Mohamed said.

"At the same time, we also hope to create an open ecosystem for local developers by offering a simple and secure environment for them to upload content."

Lu said they have a very hands-on approach with their developers, and hope to expand that community so they can become an additional distribution channel for more developers and expose them to both a local and a global audience.

"For example, we regularly feature apps and designs from local developers on our Huawei social media pages, and do competitions and promotions. We want to do everything we can to make our Huawei users aware of these local apps and upload them."

"This will encourage the growth of the developer community in South Africa by giving developers more opportunities to generate revenue from in-app purchases," said Lu.

- African News Agency (ANA)