While 20% of South Africans own a smartphone, some reports show that 60% of the country regularly use cell phones to access the Internet. It’s not surprising then, that there are some great South African mobile apps that have been developed in the last few years, covering everything from banking and e-commerce to publishing and travel.

Here’s our pick of some of the best South African mobile apps.

 

Snapscan

Snapscan

Winner of the 2013 MTN Business App of the Year award, Snapscan allows you to make payments for real things in shops, restaurants and markets using your mobile phone.

 

Mobiflock

mobiflock

For parents who want to give their kids smartphones or tablets, but are worried about who would contact them, this parental control software from Mobiflock is great. It’s available on iPhones, Blackberry, Android (as well as iPad), and lets parents set controls so they can monitor and block undesirable contacts, block inappropriate websites, and also track the whereabouts of their child by tracking the device.

Mxit

Mxit

With 6.5 million users in South Africa, Mxit is one of the country’s most popular social media networks. On Mxit you can do group chats, play games, use more than 200 apps and buy stuff with Moola, Mxit’s currency.

 

Spottm

Spottm

The soon-to-launch Spottm is a crowd-sourcing mobile app that aims to help South African citizens fight crime. It allows victims of crime to report a crime to thousands of ‘Spotters’ in their area and instantly alert people during an emergency. ‘Spotters’ in the area who spot the criminal or stolen goods can then use the app to report a sighting. Users can also use the eDocket Feature to report less serious cases without having to go to the police station. The planned launch of the app is in early 2014.

 

If there are any apps you think we’ve left out, leave your recommendations in the comments section below!

 

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