Samsung will be a major sponsor for East Africa's regional mobile applications developer competition and conference in 2012. The progression of events dubbed Pivot East will showcase East Africa's mobile applications and mobile entrepreneurs through a competitive process at a pitching conference in June 2012. Applications for contestants through the competition's website www.pivoteast.com will be opened in mid January 2012.
Pivot East is the annual followup of Pivot25, a similar competition and conference held in the first half 2011. Organised by m:lab East Africa, Pivot East will aim to consolidate and showcase the region's progress towards becoming a global powerhouse for mobile innovation. The culminating pitching conference will aim at exposing high potential mobile entrepreneurs to a rich audience of investors, telecoms operators, mobile device manufacturers, development partners and other industry players from East Africa and across the globe.
A partnership agreement between m:lab East Africa and Samsung to formalise the deal was signed at the close of 2011. The partnership deal which also includes sponsorship of m:lab East Africa's experience center makes Samsung one of the major sponsors of Pivot East. The partnership also includes sponsorship of iHub's green membership program for the calendar year 2012. The Pivot East sponsorship translates into financial support for logistics of the developer competition and conference.

According to John Kieti, Manager at m:lab East Africa, "The sponsorship agreement with Samsung to support Pivot East demonstrates the seriousness with which mobile device manufacturers are looking at mobile applications and mobile entrepreneurship in East Africa for value addition in the devices they manufacture".

Samsung's Deputy Managing Director, Robert Ngeru, said the firm will continue to support local application developers to create locally relevant ICT solutions meant to uplift the standards of living of the people.

"Samsung will continue to promote development of locally relevant mobile applications that enable Kenyans to address their day to day socio-economic needs, directly from their hand-held devices," said Mr. Ngeru.

Ngeru said Mobile applications are transforming customer experience on an unprecedented scale offering a sound platform for Samsung's market expansion.

"At Samsung we develop products that customer-led, whereby customers can determine the terms and context of their experience," concluded Mr Ngeru.

Surplus proceeds of sponsorships arising from organizing Pivot East will be channeled to support operations of the regional mobile applications laboratory hosted by m:lab East Africa at Bishop Magua Center in Nairobi - Kenya.