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. Cameroonian developers of quizzcoin and cuisto are among the finalists.
The Bots for Messenger Challenge is a contest to recognise and reward developers who create the most innovative new bots on Messenger.
The 60 finalists (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.
Bots from Middle East and North Africa
Egypt: ChefBot*
Egypt: Blood Bot
Egypt: Mr. Ink
Egypt: Lancerbot*
Egypt: Mujeeb-Marj3*
Egypt: HarassMap Bot
Tunisia: nTalk
UAE: Social Perks
UAE: Yom
Sub-Saharan Africa
Games & Entertainment
Productivity & Utility
Benin: Boolo
Ethiopia: Selam Habesha
Ethiopia: LangBot
Kenya: EatOut
Kenya: Sign Language Dictionary Bot
Kenya: BridelyBuzz
Madagascar: Alfred Bot
Nigeria: Headwork
Nigeria: Hyper-cv
Zimbabwe: PopTime Bot – Movie Companion*
Social Good
Cameroon: cuisto*
Kenya: mytichaabot
Kenya: Mingo
Kenya: Uchaguzi Kenya*
Nigeria: Baba politricks
Senegal: EmergencyBot
Senegal: Botfoot*
South Africa: Poli*
Tanzania: Wedding Planner Bot
Uganda: DaktariHealth