South Africa’s best apps were announced at the MTN Business App of the Year Awards held yesterday.

Shyft was named as the overall winner of this year’s MTN Business App of the Year Awards.

Shyft was created for Standard Bank with the aim of completely transforming the customer experience.

The app allows customers to handle all their forex needs from their phone, with no need to visit the bank. Customers are able to purchase and store forex (USD, GBP, EUR, AUSD), transfer funds overseas, order multi-currency physical travel cards, and create virtual cards that can be used for international online shopping, all from a mobile device.

Mandisa Ntloko, general manager of enterprise marketing at MTN Business SA said: “The MTN Business App of the Year Awards gives expression to our quest to contribute meaningfully to the search for innovative digital solutions that will help address some of the socio-economic challenges we are facing. As a leading telecommunications company, we are always mindful of how technology can foster entrepreneurship, drive economic growth and be leveraged as an enabler for myriad industries,” says Ntloko.

The rest of the category winners are:

Best Consumer Solution: OrderIn
OrderIn is a food delivery app. Users are able to order meals via the app, and have their meals delivered in minutes. They can also order ahead and collect or pay in person.

Most Innovative Solution: InterGreatMe
InterGreatMe is an identity management platform, providing users with control of their identities across financial services, telecommunications, insurance and credit providing companies. The platform also allows businesses to comply with FICA, RICA, NCA and POPI laws.

Best Breakthrough Developer: Zulzi
An on-demand delivery platform for anything around the consumer’s area. Zulzi is an online digital mall which links the consumer up with a personal shopper who will deliver to the customer within an hour. Lunch, dinner, groceries, pharmaceuticals or anything else can be ordered.

Best South African App: Hey Jude
Hey Jude is a real human assistant that lives on your smartphone. Whatever you need, Jude is there to assist you, be it booking restaurants, organising tradesmen or finding information – you name it, Hey Jude does it.

Best Enterprise Solution: TransUnion 1Check
TransUnion identified a need in the market for a low cost, real-time, easy-to-use mobile management tool which not only reduced high printing costs, but closed the gap between fluctuating market values and monthly publishing lead time of their printed Autodealer Guide. In addition, the software provides the financial industry and insurance providers with real time, up-to-date data for vehicle and insurance decisions via web services or via the app.

Best Incubated Solution: EcoSlips
EcoSlips converts ordinary paper slips into digital advertisements that pop up on consumer cell phones. Retailers are able to link their point-of-sale systems to EcoSlips and send transaction slips digitally from any pay point to consumer cell phones. Paper slip waste is reduced and a new advertising platform provides opportunities to grow any business in the retail sector.

This year, new categories were introduced in line with the evolving technology landscape. The inaugural winners and those recognised in these categories were:

‘Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)’ Solution
Two apps and the women responsible for developing them, were recognised in this category.

The ORU Social solution is a multi-purpose social network platform tailored for SMEs with great professional appeal. It allows users to make new connections, share videos and updates, advertise on the platform, and includes a feature to create groups. There is also an online conferencing facility, and it allows a group to access the same presentations and videos, and more.

TouchSA is all about connecting SMEs with opportunities locally and internationally. With Trade and Industry alliances in international countries, the app is a great platform for South Africa’s small unknown businesses.

Best Gaming Solution: Pick ‘n Pay’s Super Animals 2
This solution allows users to meet the all new South African Super Animals, brought to you by Pick n Pay. Gamers can keep track of their South African Super Animals cards, unlock new badges and earn new rewards as their collections grow. Users can also watch the animals come to life with movement and sound. Fun for animal-lovers of any age.

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Best Agriculture Solution: The TreeApp South Africa
Trees are a central component of virtually every ecological niche in our country, as well as being a life force in our cities and in our own gardens. But sadly, trees are not as easy to get to know as other natural species like birds and mammals. Botany is complicated, but The TreeApp has found ways of utilising simple English and straight forward visible attributes that anyone can use as search criteria.

Best Health Solution: WatIf Health Portal
This portal is a new and inventive way of delivering healthcare to the man on the street. A disease management solution designed for ordinary people, it requires input of basic clinical data from patients, and then processes it through an interactive medical knowledge system that is a part of WatIf artificial intelligence.

Best Education Solution: Awethu Project
The Awethu Project App is a mobile business tool aimed at educating one million people in developing economies on how to start and grow a business. The primary objective is to stimulate job creation through entrepreneurship.

Best Financial Solution: Shyft for Standard Bank
Also named as the overall winner of the MTN Business App of the Year Awards.

People’s Choice: 
South Africa’s favourite app is Zulzi.