ISLAMABAD: Last year Sharjeel Sikandar and Sameed Tariq came up with an app that would assist people with hearing impairment. Their Project AMP turns a mobile phone into a processing unit which transmits sounds to a Bluetooth headset.

The duo won the best app in the Djuice Apportunity contest 2014.

"Hearing impairment is on the rise and with no cost effective solution available in the market, we set out on a mission to develop a solution which will be readily available for everyone. Our inspiration basically came from our friend Sameed who is also a co-developer and has hearing impairment by birth," said Sikandar in a video highlighting their achievement.

While the solution is deceptively simple, it clearly illuminates the promise of the app market in Pakistan’s developing economy. For Sameed Tariq, it is a dream worth fulfilling. With the breakneck speed of growing mobile phone users in Pakistan, software developers now have avenues for innovation and novelty in the world of applications.

According to a market research by German firm GfK, there are over 30 million Internet users and 15 million smartphone users in Pakistan. The recent statistics indicate a staggering growth in Internet use of over 550 per cent between September 2014 and April of this year, with the total number of 3G subscribers crossing 11 million.

Acknowledging the potential to cap the global market, Telenor Pakistan's youth-centric brand Djuice, has announced the launch of Apportunity 2015 for students as well as start-ups to showcase their app on a national and international forum.

Djuice Apportunity aims to contribute to a growing digital economy where mobile apps are not only used to generate hits and revenue, but also to provide cost effective solutions to everyday problems.

How does this competition stand out?

Through Apportunity, participants can be a part of the Best App in Asia contest held as part of the Digital Winners Conference in Thailand and win up to $13,000.

The aspiring app developers will also be given mentorship related to Microsoft’s app development at the event. The most lucrative aspect of the contest is a chance to monetise from the apps through Telenor App store.

The best apps from each category will be uploaded on the Telenor App store through which developers can make money through in-app purchases from their apps and also through in-app advertising.

The Telenor App store has also made it easier for users to purchase apps, giving them the option for using their mobile credit for buying instead of a credit card. There are a number of categories that developers can register in including education, entertainment, communication, health, governance and 'Internet of Things', for each category participants can win $8,000.

Khaula Muzammil, djuice Brand Officer explained the benchmark for selecting the winners this year: "A good app constitutes of strong idea, simple and user friendly interface, apt backend coding and a keen evaluation of market needs and trends".

"Our selection criteria basically constitute the following parameters: innovation, design or user interface, marketability, should address a prevalent need, idea should support Telenor’s ‘Internet for All’ ambitions and being in line with Telenor’s ambition of empowering societies."

Participants can sign up for Apportunity 2015 by logging on to the Apportunity website here, clicking ‘Participate in Apportunity’, and registering before July 5, 2015.

Once this is done, app details need to be emailed to apportunity@telenor.com.pk by July 30, 2015.

Sponsor content: this content is made possible by our sponsor and does not necessarily reflect the views of Dawn.com's editorial staff. What's this?