With literally thousands of submitted apps, the competition was tough, but the 14 apps that stood out in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) were awarded a total of $220,000 in cash prizes.

The fact that 5,000 teams signed up and 2,500 apps were successfully submitted illustrates the widespread interest among developers. Notably, Apps UP’s popularity in the Middle East and Africa soared, as it was the highest of any region in the world outside of China.

The winners were selected based on the highest votes and under eight categories that summarized the focus of Apps-Up contest to bring to life breakthrough ideas and add value to users’ lives. The list of winners was as follows:

• Best HMS Innovation Award (US $15,000 each): CardioCam, Messiah, and Driver Companion.
• Best App Award (US $15,000 each): Advanced English Dictionary, Foodicious, and Dubai Police.
• Best Game Award (US $15,000 each): Survival Quest, Find, and Real Prado Parking Free Games: Offline Driving Car Games 2021.
• Best Social Impact Award(US $10,000 each): نَحنُ وهم, لثغة: علاج اللثغات و مشاكل النطق, and Pregnancy App : MAA.
• Best Arabic App Award (US $10,000 each): نَحنُ وهم, لثغة: علاج اللثغات و مشاكل النطق, and Dubai Police.
• All-Scenario Coverage Award (US $10,000): FilGoal – في الجول
• Tech Women’s Award (US $10,000): Pregnancy App : MAA
• Student Innovation Award (US $5,000): CodeFellow.

Lu Geng, Director of the Middle East and Africa, Huawei Global Partnerships & Eco-Development, Huawei Consumer Business Group, said: “The Apps UP Global App Innovation Contest is one of the initiatives that Huawei is particularly proud of. I hope that, as a technology leader, we will keep motivating the developer community to create apps that contribute to the greater good and advance our vision of an ecosystem that intelligently links everything. A piece of advice I have for developers is to consider the onboarding experience more thoroughly and to allow users try the app so they can realize what it offers while identifying any potential issues.”

The Dubai Police app was among the finalists who won multiple awards: the prestigious Best App Award and the Best Arabic App Award.

Commenting on this impressive achievement, Major General  Khaled Nasser Al-Razooqi, General Director of Artificial Intelligent Department – Dubai Police said: “Dubai Police is committed to being an innovation pioneer, and Huawei Mobile Services enables us to serve Dubai residents with next-generation smart services that simplify their daily lives and maximize their happiness. The Dubai Police app makes it easy to locate nearby police stations, report minor traffic accidents, pay fines, and resolve any other Dubai Police-related issue. Our participation in Apps UP 2022 was an enlightening and creative adventure that every development team should experience.”

Huawei’s Global App Innovation Contest (Apps UP) is one of the most exciting and rewarding initiatives tailored to meet the demands of the global and regional developer community.

In addition to the lucrative prizes, Huawei provides talents with the knowledge, mentoring, and support they need to bring their breakthrough ideas to life, paving the way for a smarter AI future for everyone.

Participants also have the opportunity to achieve global recognition by reaching AppGallery’s 580 million monthly active users around the world.

Currently, over 6 million registered developers take advantage of Huawei Mobile Services’ (HMS) revolutionary features, which enable the hassle-free development of high-quality apps.

The competition aims to strengthen the skills of regional app developers and drive collaboration to build a connected app ecosystem. Developers can submit their entries until 18:00 UTC+8, on 09 October 2022.

How does the competition work?

Apps UP runs through the summer, ending in December 2022, with exciting milestones all along the way. Developers participating must register or sign in to the HUAWEI DEVELOPERS website with a valid HUAWEI ID to submit their work in ZIP or RAR format not exceeding 200 MB.

Contestants can enter individually or as part of a team of up to three members across eight categories.

To qualify, participants must combine their app with HMS open capabilities or services via the team leader’s account. Developers need to integrate at least 1 HMS open capability Kit or service and must ensure that the app runs seamlessly on HMS devices.

Following a combination of public voting and a review by judges who are industry leaders from each region, the winners will be declared in December 2022.

Why participate?

According to a report commissioned by Mastercard, the Middle East and Africa region is proving to be a rich ground for app development. Apps UP enables developers from diverse backgrounds to learn about the HMS core capabilities and join an esteemed ecosystem of mobile application developers.

Providing solutions to multiple industries, HMS Core continues to build innovative experiences and multi-terminal, cross-OS, full-scene innovative and open capabilities.

The total number of registered Huawei developers worldwide reached 5.4 million in 2021; by March 2022, over 203,000 applications have been integrated with HMS Core worldwide.

On top of the cash prizes, developers will have access to development tools and workshops, support and mentorship from Huawei experts, and the opportunity for winning apps to be featured on AppGallery, one of the top three app marketplaces worldwide with over 730 million Huawei mobile device users.

The categories and prizes

Apps UP 2022 features a cash prize pool of US$230,000 for developers in the Middle East and Africa, with individual prize amounts ranging from US$5,000 to US$15,000. 

The categories include Best HMS Innovation Award, Best App, Best Game, Best Social Impact App, All-Scenario Coverage Award, Tech Women’s Award, Student Innovation Award, and the newly introduced Best Arabic App.

Teams with at least one female developer who is a key team member or leader are eligible to apply for the Tech Women’s Award.

A Rewind to Apps UP 2021

The 2021 edition of the Huawei Global App Innovation Contest (Apps UP) boasted over 10,000 submissions from approximately 10,000 developers from more than 170 countries with a global prize pool of US$1 million.

 Last year, WashyWash, Handyman Calculator, and Coresthetics were crowned with the Best App Award in the region. Real Car Race Game 3D: Fun New Car Games 2020, LittleAstro, and Scary Teacher 3D won the Best Game Award, while Blind Assistant, Limit, and Emergency Buddy conquered the Best Social Impact App Award. 

Developers can enter multiple categories and submit more than one app to boost their winning chances.

Participation:

To register and learn more about the Huawei Global App Innovation Contest (Apps UP), please email appsup.mea@huawei.com or visit the official Apps UP 2022 MEA page.