SA developers shine in Huawei’s global HMS App Innovation Contest

Wouldn’t it be great to be able to effortlessly have furniture collected and delivered? Or to be able to hail an array of emergency services at the push of a button? Thanks to SA’s clever developers, there’s now a mobile app for that.

Delivery app Droppa and geo-security app Secura are two local entries that recently received honourable mentions in the Middle East & Africa category of Huawei’s global HMS App Innovation Contest.

This competition aims to inspire talented developers around the world to create seamless, smart and innovative digital experiences using HMS Core — a collection of tools that lets them easily tap into the full hardware and software capabilities Huawei devices offer.

Entrants stand a chance to win huge cash prizes and, by featuring their creations in the Huawei AppGallery, get access to over 730-million Huawei smartphone users across the globe.

Showcasing their work in this way also gives them the opportunity to find new partners and investors.

Here’s what the developers of Droppa and Secura had to say about their apps, participating in the contest, and winning cash prizes of $3,000 (about R48,000) each:

Bennette Molepo from Droppa

Tell us a bit more about the Droppa app.

Think of Droppa as an easy way to get goods and parcels of virtually any size collected and delivered. The app also features a Bucket service, where drivers can be booked for multiple pickups and drop-offs within one booking. It is fast becoming the ultimate on-demand app for moving house and furniture removals.

What other apps have you developed that you’ve integrated with HMS Core?

I have developed the Droppa Driver app, where drivers get notifications of new jobs and can attend to bookings. Drivers can either choose to accept or reject a job based on their availability.

Integration with HMS Core is easy to do. The environment has technical examples and code snippets that developers can refer to. This lets us see how certain services work, which means we can really go wild with our imaginations.

What will you do with your Apps UP prize money?

The prize money will help me purchase more equipment that’s essential for product development, such as additional screens.

Why are competitions like Apps UP so important for developers?

It helps to encourage developers to do more development and learn as much as possible. It also allows developers to learn and understand what HMS Core can provide and how it can help their app grow.

What plans do you have for future app development?

I want to ensure the Droppa apps use as much of the HMS Core functionalities as possible.

Shayne Katz from Secura

What makes Secura so unique?

Secura is a geo-security mobile platform that gives users access to private emergency services. In an emergency, the user taps the panic button in the app that links to SA’s AURA on-demand emergency services. This effectively gives them access to a nationwide network of leading private armed response, medical emergency and armed standby roadside assistance services.

What did the process of integrating Secura with HMS Core entail?

Initially, we only catered for the Google Maps Service (GMS). But when AURA restructured its dependency on GMS, it could be swapped out during runtime to cater for HMS Core. AURA built the HMS Core side, which encompassed the location and map service.

Why is integrating an app with HMS Core such a good idea?

Huawei has established itself as one of the world’s leading technology corporations. Considering the immense growth of its service offerings, app developers can ensure maximum market penetration through HMS Core integration. Using HMS Core as a part of AURA’s development is critical to Secura’s desire to be at the forefront of mobile app innovation in Africa.

What makes HMS Core a good ecosystem for developers?

HMS Core is built with developers in mind. A significant amount of work has been put into the ecosystem, documentation is well-defined, and our team didn’t experience any issues with the integration.

How will the Apps UP prize money help you grow as a developer?

It unlocks several opportunities for Secura. It facilitates further collaboration with AURA’s on-demand response network and can help create awareness that there are affordable, efficient and effective app solutions in SA’s private security sector.

Click here to find out more about Huawei’s developer events and initiatives.

This article was paid for by Huawei Mobile Services.