With operators around the globe eager to monetize their data platforms, Nokia and Malaysian startup YTL are separately offering $1 million (€690,000) to developers to create winning apps.
At CES in Las Vegas, Nokia CEO Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo launched the firm’s Growth Economy Venture Challenge, which Nokis hopes will “encourage innovators to create a mobile product or service that raises the standard of living or enhances the lives of those in growth economies.”
As examples of innovations in growth economies, Olli-Pekka Kallasvuo spoke about several Nokia solutions and projects such as Nokia Life Tools and Nokia Tej.
Olli-Pekka said that mobile solutions can be “quite profitable, but not exploitive”, leading to financial win-win scenarios for both innovators and consumers.
The challenge is not limited to Nokia software or hardware. The million dollar prize will be invested in a single winning organization, which will be announced in June.
Nokia has already invested €6.7 million in four Indian applications developers, under the Open Screen Project Fund which was initiated with Adobe.
The applications have multi-screen infotainment features and have been selected from over 900 entries from over 60 countries.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Wimax operator YTL Communications also announced a $1 million Global Developer Challenge at CES.
The firm says the competition is designed to “inspire entrepreneurs and innovators around the world to create exciting new 4G mobile Internet products and services for Malaysian deployment.”
In mid-November, YTL announced partnerships with Cisco, Clearwire, GCT Semiconductor and Samsung to develop new applications for its service.
In late-October, the Malaysian regulator fined YTL e-Solutions because of its failure to meet its 25% network coverage target by end-March.
YTL hopes to be the first Wimax operator in Malaysia to deploy a nationwide network. It is aiming to do so by December.