West African startups Flippy Campus, Pass.ng, WaraCake and Zeepay are among the nominees for the inaugural West Africa Mobile Awards (WAMAS), which rewards mobile and tech companies across the region.
The event is supported by Mobile West Africa (MWA), AppsAfrica.com, and the Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF), with winners to be announced at a gala in Lagos, Nigeria on April 21.
Applications opened in February, with submissions coming from 10 countries across three continent in 10 mobile industry categories, including e-commerce, mobile money, entertainment, mobile app, and brand development.
A judging panel featuring industry experts worked together to down-select the entries and create the shortlist, which sees Ghanaian university tool Flippy Campus nominated for the Mobile App and Game Award alongside the likes of ASA and PrepUp.
The Young Gun of the Year Award shortlist is, inevitably, filled with startup entrepreneurs, including Andrew Takyi-Appiah of Ghanaian fintech startup Zeepay and Olatunde Ayilara of NIgerian e-commerce platform WaraCake.
Nigerian e-learning startup Pass.ng is nominated for the Innovation in the Industry Award, alongside Ghanaian church management software startup Asoriba, with the former also nominated in the Educational & Personal Development Award, alongside fellow Nigerian e-learning company Tuteria.
Jason Njoku of Nigerian VoD startup iROKO is up for the Outstanding Industry Achievement Award, while Nigeria’s Taja is in the running for the Commerce and Retail Award.