Etisalat introduces ‘AppZone Click’

Tuesday, 30 December 2014 00:57 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

A do-it-yourself application development platform for promising entrepreneurs Etisalat Lanka successfully launched AppZoneClick; a simplified process of developing Short Message Services (SMS) based applications. The new platform was launched at an educational forum which was held at the Etisalat Head Office. The event was most anticipated among many individuals, including students, undergraduates and many promising entrepreneurs. AppZone Click is the next phase of Sri Lanka’s first ever independent third party mobile application platform which was re-

designed to offer a more simplified method of creating mobile applications for a wider potential segment of developers and individuals who wish to start up and / or expand their business using SMS as a medium to develop applications. The highlight of the event featured a knowledge sharing one-on-one session with successful AppZone entrepreneurs Sajith Udayanga and Ashen Gomez who shared their success stories on how AppZone has helped them support and enhance their careers as businessmen and a guest speech by Vishaka Nanayakkara, Deputy Project Director HETC Project (Higher Education for the Twentieth Century) and Senior Lecturer at University of Moratuwa, who encouraged the young participants to think beyond and leap for success; were some of the influential contributors at the event. The event also featured a live demonstration of AppZone Click, followed by a Q&A session, speeches by Shameel Bishri, Senior Manager Customer Experience and Loyalty at Etisalat Lanka, who spoke about the power of SMS based application and the use and convenience of the new AppZone Click platform and Isuru Dias, Director – Client Lead at MindShare who spoke on taking one’s idea to the consumer through advertising. A new business idea presentation was also conducted and was followed by an engaging session for participants who were formed into teams to come up with new business ideas during the ‘Think Tank’ session. Speaking on the event, Chief Commercial Officer of Etisalat Lanka, Janaka Jayalath said: “We are pleased with the response and participation of young entrepreneurs at the event. With the introduction of AppZone Click, developing SMS based applications is not restricted to professional developers but is targeted to a wider segment and judging by the enthusiasm of participants, the new platform is sure to open doors to a new breed of entrepreneurs who will use this platform to showcase their work and enhance their entrepreneurial skills while putting them into practice, through a simple and cost effective method. We are pleased to offer this service to our customers and we are even more pleased to be an enabler of great opportunity for promising entrepreneurship.”

“On behalf of everyone who was at the event, we want to thank Etisalat for introducing the new AppZone Click platform. The general feedback from participants is the ease and convenience of the new platform for those who do not have an extensive knowledge in IT and programming. This provides aspiring youth the perfect opportunity to pursue their dreams to reach higher as would-be entrepreneurs. As someone who has been with AppZone since its inception, we can see a much higher level of engagement in all types of business start-ups by youth of today when compared to four years back. So it’s very encouraging to see how Etisalat has recognised this trend by sharing their knowledge and resources with the launch of AppZone Click; which is platform that is youth-friendly, has a fresh look and feel with the potential to reach a wider audience. Well done Etisalat,” said long standing successful AppZone entrepreneur Sajith Udayanga. The event came to a promising end with an engaging discussion amongst participants and the panellists. Etisalat also rewarded the team members who emerged as winners of the ‘Think Tank’ session, by presenting the best business idea to create a SMS Based Application using the AppZone Click Platform.