6 June 2013
Smartphone and tablet maker BlackBerry has announced the opening of its third BlackBerry apps lab in South Africa.
The new lab is based at the JoziHub mobile and ICT co-creation hub in Johannesburg, and follows on the launch of BlackBerry apps labs at the Bandwidth Barn in Cape Town and the University of Pretoria last year.
“With backing from heavyweights in the tech industry and close proximity to the universities of the Witwatersrand and Johannesburg … JoziHub is a perfect location for the country’s third BlackBerry apps lab,” Alexandra Zagury, MD for South Africa and Southern Africa at BlackBerry, said in a statement on Wednesday.
“We are looking forward to fostering mobile innovation in Johannesburg by supporting even more training and support for South African application developers.”
According to BlackBerry, the labs provide local developers, including students, start-ups and entrepreneurs, with access to resources in development, marketing, sales and training to help them expand their ideas and business opportunities.
“We look forward to working with BlackBerry to mobilise our resident developer community, including students, researchers and faculties adjacent to our premises, the universities of Johannesburg and Witwatersrand,” said JoziHub community manager Annie Lopes.
The BlackBerry apps labs form part of a developer programme that spans Africa.
“BlackBerry has been working with 80 universities, colleges and schools across Africa through the BlackBerry Academic Program, which provides institutions with materials and content to teach and educate students on mobile application development, and plans to open a developer lab in Nigeria later this year,” the company said.
SAinfo reporter
