Turkcell’s App Developers Marathon Ends with 8 Finalists: Teams Are One Step Closer to the Silicon Valley

ISTANBUL--()--Turkcell (NYSE:TKC, BIST:TCELL) Turkey’s leading telecommunications and technology company finalized its App Marathon, a 6-week-long journey launched to mentor and promote the best local mobile software development efforts. 8 finalists shared the products of their efforts with members of the Turkish press.

App Developers Marathon, organized under Turkcell’s umbrella project “Developers of the Future”, had received 580 applications. 153 developers in 60 teams were admitted, and following more than 2000 hours of work under the mentorship of Turkcell volunteers, 45 applications were produced in 7 categories: Education, Health, Mobile Finance, Transportation, M2M, Business World and Social Responsibility.

Meeting Turkey’s growth target in information technologies

Introducing the 8 finalists, Ilker Kuruoz, Turkcell’s Chief Technology Officer, underlined Turkcell’s commitment to creating a mobile software movement in Turkey. “Turkey’s growth target in information technologies is an ambitious one – we aim to generate 8% of our national income from information technologies by 2023. In order to make this goal come true, we have to grow the ecosystem. By supporting the young generation of Turkey to develop applications through programs like “Developers of the Future”, Turkcell plays a crucial role in realizing our potential and improving Turkey’s standing in the software development market. The outcome of our App Development marathon is very promising. We will continue to closely follow and support not only the winning but other applicants as well.” said Kuruoz.

Kuruoz also emphasized the need to increase the reach of products, especially of mobile apps, developed by the country’s software development ecosystem. Globally, an application generates $500,000 monthly revenue on average. In Turkey, this number is at $35,000 USD level.

Turkcell continues to support teams in the post-development phase

At this phase, Turkcell will continue to support successful teams by contributing to their visibility across national and international investment platforms. Some of the teams will have the opportunity to be business partners with Turkcell. 8 finalists will develop their business models and strategies in the upcoming 3 months and the winner of the marathon will get a chance to visit the Silicon Valley.

Each of the 8 apps that have made the final cut is available in at least one app store. Among these 8 apps are the following:

  • “Smart Location” facilitates communication among I-beacons and warns users of obstacles on their way through beacon technology.
  • “Smart Key” enables smartphones to open locked doors with the help of a camera and a generated QR code.
  • “Pinicate” is a location based platform that enables users to report local news and share them with greater audiences.
  • “Adventures of Miko and Dodo” is an application that offers educational games and interactive stories for children between ages of 0 and 5 in Turkish, English and Arabic.
  • “Rough Road” helps drivers report rough roads in with the help of GPS and smartphone sensors to required authorities in order for them to repair.
  • “Pogitive” is an application where the users will be able to find the exact quotes of people on news without distortion. Users will also be able rate and comment on quotes via social media.
  • “Blood link” is a CSR application where blood and thrombocyte donors can post where they are and be reached when there is a need of a donation.
  • “Social Ant” developed by the female students of Turkcell’s “Snowdrops” program, helps tracking NGOs and their current social responsibility projects.

Turkcell’s App Developers Marathon is part of “Developers of the Future”. Launched in September 2013, the project aims to improve technological literacy and the software development landscape, making online learning available in Turkish for people interested in coding. The community already boasts 21 thousand members from 40 countries. Mobile software development information is available for iOS, Android and Windows Phone.

Turkish speakers can access the project website and become members at https://gelecegiyazanlar.turkcell.com.tr/.

ABOUT TURKCELL: Turkcell is the leading communications and technology company in Turkey, with 35.2 million subscribers as of December 31, 2013. Turkcell is a leading regional player, with market leadership in five of the nine countries in which it operates with its approximately 71.3 million subscribers as of December 31, 2013. It has become one of the first among the global operators to have implemented HSPA+. It has achieved up to 43.2 Mbps speed using the Dual Carrier technology, and is continuously working to provide the latest technology to its customers. Turkcell Superonline, a wholly owned subsidiary of Turkcell, is the first telecom operator to offer households fiber broadband connection at speeds of up to 1,000 Mbps in Turkey. As of December 2013, Turkcell’s population coverage is at 99.49% in 2G and 86.17% in 3G. Turkcell reported a TRY11.4 billion (US$6.0 billion) revenue with total assets of TRY21.3 billion (US$10.0 billion) as of December 31, 2013. It has been listed on the NYSE and the ISE since July 2000, and is the only NYSE-listed company in Turkey. Read more at www.turkcell.com.tr

You can now follow the most up-to-date Turkcell developments on twitter by clicking on the link below. http://twitter.com/TurkcellNews

Contacts

For further information:
Turkcell Corporate Communications
Hande Aşık, +90-532-910 6471
International Media Relations
Email: hande.asik@turkcell.com.tr
or
Edelman Turkey
Duygu Nergiz, +90-212-329-8080
Head of Strategy & Client Relations
Email:Duygu.nergiz@edelman.com

Release Summary

Turkcell’s App Developers Marathon ends with 8 finalists

Contacts

For further information:
Turkcell Corporate Communications
Hande Aşık, +90-532-910 6471
International Media Relations
Email: hande.asik@turkcell.com.tr
or
Edelman Turkey
Duygu Nergiz, +90-212-329-8080
Head of Strategy & Client Relations
Email:Duygu.nergiz@edelman.com