PARTICIPANTS at a Mobile App development training workshop in Antigua and Barbuda have developed an app called In Antigua which is designed to promote the island as regional and international tourist destination.

The In Antigua was developed from scratch as the final exercise in an intensive two-day course hosted by the Antigua Barbuda Investment Authority (ABIA), together with BrightPath Foundation, a non-profit organisation, as part of the country’s annual Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Fest.

Minister of Information, Broadcasting, Telecommunications, Science and Technology Dr Edmond A Mansoor, declared his government’s support for ICT development, and praised the efforts of the workshop organisers for their initiative to encourage innovation and develop new local capacity in the mobile sector.

Fitzmaurice Christian, director of investment promotion at ABIA, stated, “It is time to ignite the local market with mobile apps that meet local needs. The Authority is seeking to continue in partnership with the BrightPath Foundation, as well as other local and regional stakeholders who have an interest in supporting continued development in the mobile space in Antigua.”

Mobile apps are software programs that run on smartphones like RIM BlackBerry and Apple’s iPhone. These programs allow users to access information like news and alerts or services like ordering goods, booking a taxi, paying bills, finding a favourite store, or playing games directly on their mobile handset.

Founder and Executive Director of BrightPath Bevil Wooding led the BrightPath team of experts who facilitated the mobile app development workshop.

Asked why the program had such a strong impact on participants, he responded, “We’ve designed the BrightPath iCAN Mobile program specifically to encourage the proliferation of content and applications that are relevant to the local and regional environment.”

He added, “With over 200,000 mobile handsets in circulation and a population of under 100,000, the conditions are right for a mobile application development revolution in Antigua and Barbuda.”

The BrightPath iCAN Mobile App Development workshop is expected to be next run in St Kitts and Nevis later this month.