The MTN Business App of the Year Awards do more than just shine a spotlight on some of South Africa’s emerging talent, they also provide the developers with an opportunity to raise their profiles and build a richer market share. The Awards offer these entrepreneurs and companies an opportunity to grow their visibility and to leverage the publicity to drive awareness and downloads.

However, the developers also felt that this was a chance to engage with MTN Business in other ways, ways that could help them make the right business decisions and grow their audience.

Around 70% of the developers wanted MTN to zero-rate their apps which would help their customers to reduce the amount of data consumed when using the apps and would encourage adoption of the services. This was followed by around 67% of the developers hoping that the Awards would help them build a closer relationship with MTN, giving them access to the MTN runway of customers – a base that would go a long way towards boosting the popularity and awareness of their applications.

At least 80% of the developers wanted MTN Business to take a more active role in the Awards, helping the developers with exposure, resources and access to funding opportunities. Many felt that the Awards were a superb starting point, but that there needed to be more support in the stable.

This support could take the form of mentorships, education, business development, equipment and data. In fact, data was the most commonly mentioned with many developers hoping that MTN Business would provide them with data as they evolved their businesses. In addition to resources, data and zero-rating, the most common request was for MTN to host more hackathons as these would provide developers with even more opportunities to expand their skills and their networks.

Finally, the developers felt that MTN Business had done a lot for app development in the country, providing them with a platform that allowed them to grow their business, learn more about the market and meet the right people. They did want more feedback around their apps and the issues that perhaps held them back or let them down – at least 75% of the developers wanted to know how they could improve their work.

That said, they felt that the Awards were a superb opportunity, one that they would all likely enter again in the future. It has provided them with a space that has allowed them to expand their knowledge base, connect with other local developers, improve issues with their apps, and find new markets. For every one of the developers, the Awards was a positive experience that has shaped their plans for the future and given them insights they can use to grow their apps going forward.