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Ten companies to represent EA in Bots for Messenger Challenge finals
Facebook has selected 60 finalists from the hundreds of entries it received from across the Middle East and Africa for…
Facebook has selected 60 finalists from the hundreds of entries it received from across the Middle East and Africa for the Bots for Messenger Developer Challenge. Among the sixty finalists, ten are from East Africa, with representatives from; Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.
The finalists from East Africa includes: Uganda: Mamas’ League, Uganda: Nutshell Bot, Kenya: EatOut, Kenya: Sign Language Dictionary Bot, Kenya: BridelyBuzz, Kenya: mytichaabot, Kenya: Mingo, Kenya: Uchaguzi Kenya*, Tanzania: Wedding Planner Bot and Uganda: DaktariHealth.
Per a statement sent by Facebook, the ‘Bots for Messenger Challenge’ is a contest to recognise and reward developers who create the most innovative new bots on Messenger.
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“Facebook grew out of a hacker culture and thrives by promoting innovation on new platforms. That’s why we launched the ‘Bots for Messenger Challenge’, with the aim of rewarding entrepreneurs and developers for harnessing the power of bots to create amazing new services and apps. We were overwhelmed to receive more than 1,000 entries over two and a half months for the Bots for Messenger Challenge from developers and entrepreneurs across the Middle East and Africa—each one of them solving a problem in an inventive way or enriching the lives of its target user.” Emeka Afigbo, Facebook’s Head of Platform Partnerships for the Middle East and Africa, said in a statement.
The 60 finalist teams (10 per category in Middle East/North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa) each won a Gear VR and mobile phone, one hour of Facebook mentorship, and tools and services from FbStart , a Facebook program designed to help early stage mobile start-ups build and grow their bots. All student teams who made it to the finals won an additional $2,000.
Facebook will contact the finalists and connect them with a mentor. They will need to resubmit their bots before midnight (GMT) on June 2 to qualify to win. For each region, three runner-up teams (one from each category) will win $10,000 and three months of Facebook mentorship. For each region, three winning teams (one from each category) will win $20,000 and three months of Facebook mentorship.
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The 60 finalist teams and their bots can be viewed here.