Windhoek
The use of mobile phones and computer applications has become ubiquitous, but only a few are conversant with the software language and mechanics of developing commercially viable apps.
Many questions linger in the minds of the uninitiated. What does it take to develop an app? Where do I start, how do I register my app on the App Store? What are the costs associated with such a process? How do I even start? Enter Alex Zavatone.
Alex is from Dallas and worked in Silicon Valley during the first dot com boom. With the rise of iOS and iPhones, he has led development efforts for firms like French multinational Dassault and America’s CVS and Verizon and now leads iOS development at the emergency notification company, SendWordNow. He has helped companies in the United States and elsewhere to launch apps and was recently in Namibia to provide training on the development of such apps. Alex’s goal is to help make Namibia the Silicon Valley of the Savannah.
His love for Namibia started in 2009 when he traveled here to donate computers to the Leevi Hakusembe High School in Kavango West. Since then he has made it his mission to impart knowledge to local computer programmers in the development of applications for Apple and Android platforms. Alex again arrived in Windhoek on October 18 to offer a weeklong training course at the Polytechnic of Namibia, in conjunction with the Namibia Business Innovation Institute.
He taught three lessons a day for people who want to learn how to create applications for iPhones and iPads. Alex’s second week in the country has been left open for consultations. The cost of the sessions have been fully covered and the lessons were free to all attendees.