The question I kept asking Hugo all the while we were having the conversation is are there actually up to 500 decent Nigerian apps? Which brings me to the questions for the gods. Why don’t websites/startups like Hotels.ng, Jovago and Tripican.com have apps?
Simple answer - no. But then, what is the definition of “decent”? And what do we mean by Nigerian apps? Apps developed by Nigerians or apps that serve a Nigerian need? Or both?
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Both, Hugo said.
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Before we get giddy about this project, let’s ask why other people who attempted this left it behind & what Gidiapps is doing differently. I believe there were a couple, but MobiQube comes to mind readily: http://mobile.mobiqube.com/downloads.html.
I also don’t see the seller side as compelling enough to drive people to a different marketplace, because I image same apps would be available on Google Play & iOS App Store. I mean, Microsoft is still spending massive money on their app store & it hasn’t quite caught on like the rest. http://www.statista.com/statistics/276623/number-of-apps-available-in-leading-app-stores/
Unless it does much more than just listing & marketing apps, I’m afraid it might just go like the others.
Other services could include:
On the tech side: device management, app status monitoring & diagnostics, etc.
On the sales side: Offer buyers & sellers incentives to list & buy, actually build apps for popular local services that only have websites (discounted & with their permission) and offer exclusive downloads on Gidiapps.
My concerns.
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I agree with you. I’m not sure what true value they give that consumers can’t get from the native app stores. @lordbanks always asks what Nigerian apps people use every day. Apart from internet banking, I can’t think of anyone. Can you?
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Decent here means functional. Functional means that humans can using it without banging their heads against the wall. Uber is functional. But a more local example would be GTBank’s mobile banking app. It works. I believe user experience is a core part of functionality, IMO. Truth is not many Nigerian apps meet this baseline. For instance, most of said “Nigerian apps” are HTML5 wrappers of news websites. Obviously, you would be better off just visiting the original website.
Aesthetics are cherry on top.
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I wish I could come up with a smart enough answer that shine more light on the future success of this project. But I’m sorry I’ll have to disappoint.
All local app developers have a simple problem of getting more download for their apps and for the local mobile phone users be it a banking app or other utility apps, if they can easily discover more apps, I think it would be good all round.
This project is not built to solve any new problem that the traditional app stores don’t already do, it’s intended to support their existing efforts. If we keep costs low and maybe gain some traction, then we can start thinking about other ways to optimize. For now, let’s just finish the first bit, curate content and kick start a marketing campaign.
Failure is not a problem, neither is success. Let’s keep coming up with solutions and not be afraid to experiment. Who ever said “if you are going to fail, then fail fast”?
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It is important to offer success incentive for local app developers to do better next time out. That can come with downloads, not monetization. Let’s think of the value in this the same way we think of Naija music or Nollywood. It wasn’t always awesome and the global competition is immense. No one is talking about monetization, all I am saying is if the global apps are making billions won’t it be nice if we can get some of our guys to make a few thousands since the initial benchmark is based on downloads?
The quality of products will improve as new people enter the space.
ps: I’m aware we are all singing from the same tune
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Let me list out the apps I use ever other day that are Nigerian.
GTBank & Paga. But I also check news websites, movie times, search for restaurants and get countless messages from Konga, Jumia, SuperMart etc.
For the global app stores, it’s no different. aside from social media and instant messages, all the other apps are on an every now and again basis, but the most important thing is that I have them on my device.
Why can we all have spinlet and punch and konga and AfriNolly on our devices. Can you imagine how many download some of these guys would have if every Nigerian with an Android enabled device had these apps?
That’s what we are aiming for. i know how long I used Amazon before I downloaded their app and how frequently or infrequently I make use of it.
But they have my download!
I think we all need to make a list of the Nigerian apps we use. I’m just curious.
Mine:
RIGHT NOW
- GTBank: Every. Single. Day. Biggest use case? Airtime recharges. I tried to book a flight with it the other day, but that didn’t work. Sticking to bank transfers and airtime purchases for now.
- Uber: This doesn’t qualify as “Nigerian”, but it’s part of my Lagos lifestyle, and I use it every other day.
BEFORE
- Paga: Till I began to have issues with large value airtime recharges. I think that was telcos fault. That was years ago, and I haven’t found an excuse to check it out again.
- Spinlet: I liked/like it, but having to pay manually every single month was unbearable. Deezer with their recurrent payments bagged me.
That’s it. Thing is, I would use
- A well-made movie booking app for Lagos cinemas
- A hotel booking app (as opposed to the website)
- A flight booking app with experiential elements built in. There are a ton of apps here, but none of them is actually enjoyable to use. People who fly would actually appreciate deals and location-based ads if done properly and beautifully.
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I think we are talking about two things here:
- Gidiapps want to create a directory of local apps “to help discovery”
- @lordbanks is asking if there are good Nigerian apps out there/Nigerian apps people use (to make the experiment worth it?)
1, I see nothing wrong with the experiment really. Honestly, app discovery currently sucks. A place where I can go and discover “Nigerian apps” is not a bad idea.
2, The question of Nigerian apps brings back the question of “decent”. I think decent is relative. Decent can mean being useful and not just good UX. For example, I don’t find the GTBank mobile app aesthetic. It is slow and buggy. But I use it always because I have no other option.
Where I am driving at is that if we judge decent by use and not by that perfect mix of aesthetics and relevance, then there are lots of “Nigerian apps” people use. I’ve met someone who told me the Amebo app is a part of his everyday life. This is just as Uber is to @lordbanks - same Uber I have never used. None of us probably have the Channels TV app installed but it has 500k - 1m downloads in Play store. That this apps are poorly designed or we don’t use them doesn’t mean others don’t. But then, if we are talking decent in terms of wide appeal, relevance and aesthetics, yes, there is not a lot of that.
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I know right? Different lifestyle determine what “decent” mean to different people.
Even though I get what @kehers is saying about Nigerian app discovery, I don’t totally agree. Maybe because I’m not a heavy app user or my needs from apps are quite basic. Even though I really appreciate the work we put into our local apps, I find that in the long run, I bother less about the “Nigerian-ness” of an app as much as it’s relevant to me for the work.
However, I’d keenly observe how Gidiapps go. Maybe I’d see use cases I never knew I needed to pay attention to.
All the best to @hugo_obi.
PS: I like AmeboApp too 
So you’re mostly interested in getting download numbers up? @hugo_obi
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@seyitaylor that’s the primary objective. You guys know how much time it takes to prepare and publish content for your website. Now imagine app developers who create customized solutions let’s say a Top Up Genie decides to extend their offering to give their user a unique experience via an app. The download numbers can be appalling and it creates a disincentive for them to further improve on their original idea or to offer an alternative.
The number one problem is no longer can we build an app or can we build an app that can monetize, it’s really can we get downloads? The most popular way of promoting is via Facebook & Twitter and for those who have a massive email database and send out regular newsletters (Konga, Jumia, Paga) then they depend on that. However, the average person who reads newsletters or goes to a website might like @celestocalculus not be a native app user. I know it took me a while to get to the point where I’d rather use an app rather than go to a website (I never use BBC news app, but go to their site everyday however, I use CNN app and never go to their website).
If we (Gidi Apps) can establish the Nigerian mobile users who prefer apps as a means of discovering the same info we all get from websites, we’ve solved one problem, secondly, if we can introduce the new smart phone users to this cluster of locally relevant apps and this becomes their gateway to the apps stores in the same way Facebook is the gateway to the web for a lot of new to the web folks in this country, then we’ve achieved our goal…
The big question is how we get to these folks and that’s what we need to crack
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I admire the intention behind this, but I never even browse the Google app store. Even if I did, I don’t encourage pushing for people to patronize something out of sheer sentiment. There are thousands of good apps from American devs that wallow away in the app store as well. Apps become popular because they’re good/useful and got a lucky draw of users willing to pimp it, not because the dev’s hometown downloaded it. And downloads are different from active use. A downloaded app can only be a source of revenue if the user is actually USING it, which is not the case for about 60% of my phone’s apps. If I’ve downloaded it just because a Nigerian did it, but I never use it, then what’s the point?
The truth is, I don’t care where an app is from, unless I have a very specific local need for it, like say, a Lagos traffic app or the GTB app which is useless on mobile data.
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Personally love the idea. A bunch of friends and I have also been working for months on local product discovery and it’s still the same issues; First, you need people to make relevant apps. Secondly, a standalone website for discovering apps is a chore for most people. Only enthusiasts usually ever visit, and enthusiasts are just a tiny percentage of the users you’re looking for. Many times in fact, only emails and quick digests will keep even the enthusiasts engaged. But it’s a great thing that everyone is trying one way or another!
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@onyeka I agree with you on relevance and usability of apps such as traffic or banking apps. On the point of sentiments, I went to school in Manchester, England. You might not know this, but a lot of famous rock bands originate from that part of the world the likes of Oasis, Chemical Brothers, and Stone Roses etc. The town focuses on a. promoting their famous names b. in discovering new talent. Part of the reason for this is that they value the value to the brand Manchester from these groups going global and the value to the local economy. The Scandinavians did something similar and I am sure various people can sight various examples. Maybe patriotism is required to jump-start. I do believe that quality would improve if we see some local success stories. Don’t forget the story of Nigerian music.
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I really think the label ‘Nigerian app’ really misses the point, locally relevant defines it better.
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Does anyone know how well MTN’s app store is doing and Samsung’s store?
Very good point…