Hello readers, each week (from this one), I’ll be looking to highlight apps made by Kenyan developers who believe they will offer some value to the wider population. They may not be the best made apps out there, or the most beautiful, but the fact that the developer saw some use in them, is good enough to make them even better. All it takes is that one step and if you are a developer and have something you want to show off to all our many readers, please feel free to share it with us on our forum.
What inspired this? Well, you guys did. A few of you have been commenting on our posts with your apps and one actually asked of there was a Kenyan developer forum to put up their stuff. Our response? You can definitely put up your apps on our forums. Many people access the forum from across the country and the continent, therefore it is a good platform to get feedback.
To start of today, I have two apps, one that I have had for a while but it got a remake, while another that I downloaded recently from a post on our forums.
Eleveyt
A long while back, I interviewed a software development startup Henga Systems and from that interview, they mentioned that they have developed several Android applications but Eleveyt would be their flagship application. Although they took more than the stated month to get it up and running, it is finally here and I took some time to use it and note a few improvements here and there.
From their description on Google Play;
“Eleveyt is a mobile-based social platform that allows Christians to connect and communicate with one another. Add posts and gain access to Christian content and events with Eleveyt! Connect & Belong :-)”
Features of Eleveyt:
- Daily verse of the day
- Download sermons
- Join groups and chat
- View and register for events
- Receive news & updates
- Invite a friend to church or an event.
First Impressions
When they first had the app on play store a long while back, I downloaded it but couldn’t figure out how to use it. I was locked out by the requirement that I had to be in a specific church group and therefore the furthest I got was the log in page, but this was just a test. When they alerted me that they have officially launched Eleveyt, I hoped I would not still be locked out for not being part of any church group as this will hinder me from using the application.
I am glad that I wasn’t locked out this time and got to explore the application more. One thing to note is that this app is fairly simple. It does what it has set out to do. You can join church groups, get daily verses and interact with many other church goers.
However there is something about this app that make me think of WhatsApp. Whatsapp church groups would definitely be the biggest competitor to Eleveyt. Church goers already have WhatsApp groups that they use to communicate and share media, why then would they leave a universally available and used app to go to Eleveyt? This, I think is what Eleveyt should work on and you can clearly see that they are.
They offer more value and features in the app as opposed to WhatsApp. You get timeline, some sort of feed allowing you to like or comment. You also get daily verses sent to you through timely notifications. You can also access and download sermons for reference but one important fact, you cannot pull a Bro Ocholla on the app, leave that for WhatsApp please.
Pros:
- It is not restrictive. You can use the app even if you do not belong to a specific church group.
- Good design, not great but workable.
Cons:
- I feel like it should be more inclusive for other religions. This way, it can hope to cover the wider Kenyan population. Making it universal and all-inclusive might be the push it needs.
- Features can be added in order to make this app an all-in-one religious solution, like it could have the Bible in there so that a person I church still uses the app.
Pichapp
“Meet PichApp, a new mobile photo printing app that allows users in Kenya who like taking photos on their phones, choose their best pictures and place an order for them to be printed at an affordable price. The photos will be delivered to their doorstep! Talk of surprise every month.”
Where have I heard something similar before? Oh yes! On an episode of Shark Tank, there were two guys pitching something similar, a model whereby you choose a picture you like and they send it to you in some sort of pretty frame, something with rounded corners like the Instagram icon.
It is a pretty awesome concept on all aspects aside from one angle that the investors also pointed out, in an age of digital storage, why would one want a physical photo, let alone an album?
“With the PichApp, users can choose either ‘Pichabook’ or ‘Loose photos’ option while ordering. With Pichabook, one can select their best 50 photos. The photos will then be compiled in a beautiful 50 pages photobook of 4×6 inches. On the other hand, for the loose photos option, the prints will be done in 4×6 sizes and delivered to them.”
A Pichabook goes for Kshs 1000 and a photo goes for Kshs 15. Plus there are courier charges to deliver the photos. I don’t get it. Maybe I am not the target market.
The developers pit the value of this app for the gift givers. If you want to create a physical memento to show your loved ones how much you treasure them, you consider PichApp. If you want to document your business with photos or a food book then they can do that for you. I think that the gift industry is their best option and for that, they better deliver something good and not your usual photo albums or photos posted on tapes outside weddings!
Pros:
- With the idea of making this a gift product, creating and executing it with that in mind is something that could really work. It’s a workable concept but they need to really sell it to potential users.
Cons:
- I couldn’t get the app to work. It kept crashing and made my phone slow down before I killed it. Those bugs need to be fixed
- Back on the app, in order to sell the experience, the app itself should be beautifully designed and imply that you can use it to produce gifts. All it is right now is black background and yellow font and boxes.
Honorable mentions:
My Secret
Kenyans’ got secrets! Share your secrets anonymously with the world
I swear, I am not proud of the hours I have spent on this site since I knew about it. People have some weird secrets which are oddly entertaining
Boozeit
For all you boozy types out there who feel too lazy to go buy alcohol or not bothered to go out to an actual bar, Boozeit promises to deliver your poison to your doorstep. Just go through the site, pick what you want and you can pay for it on delivery using cash, MPESA, Visa or PayPal. Getting drunk wherever you are just seems to get easier these days.
I can’t stop pronouncing that name like a German word though (shout out to all German speakers!!)
So that’s what I have for this week so far. If you have any app you think we should look out for, be sure to let us know on our forums.
