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Do you remember Facebook’s Bots for Messenger developer challenge? 60 finalist teams have been selected from the entries it received from across the Middle East and Africa. For those who are wondering about the number of entries that was received, Emeka Afigbo, Facebook’s Head of Platform Partnerships for the Middle East, said:
“We were overwhelmed to receive more than 1,000 entries over two and a half months for the Bots for Messenger Challenge from developers and entrepreneurs across the Middle East and Africa—each one of them solving a problem in an inventive way or enriching the lives of its target user.”
The 60 finalist teams (10 per category in the 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 (https://Developers.Facebook.com/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.
So, which bots made the final cut? Facebook had 30 bots from the Middle East and North Africa:
And 30 from sub-Saharan Africa.
Yes, Nigeria had 4 bots that made the cut, while Kenya had the highest number of bots (in Sub-Saharan Africa).
You can also try out the bots on your messenger app using the links below:
Nigeria: Laide Bot*
Nigeria: Headwork
Nigeria: Hyper-cv
Nigeria: Baba politricks
Kenya: BridelyBuzz
Kenya: EatOut
Kenya: Uchaguzi Kenya*
Kenya: Mingo
Kenya: mytichaabot