Ericsson offers an opportunity for developers, startups and anyone who has an idea for a great app to take part in a competition and win prizes. “We expect to receive unique innovations from the Middle East region,” the company stated.

First prize is 25,000 euros, second prize 10,000 euros, and special recognition for innovation supporting ‘Technology for Good.’ The remaining prizes from third to tenth include diplomas and honorary mentions

This is the fifth consecutive year that Ericsson has announced its Application Awards. Students and small- and medium-sized enterprises from anywhere in the world are invited to submit Android and iOS apps.

This competition will give participants and their teams the opportunity to gain a foothold in the app industry, while also earning recognition and making contacts within the telecom industry.

There will be two categories for this contest — one for students, and one for small- and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 100 employees.

“Mobile subscriptions in the Middle East grew nine percent year-on year (or eight million) to 284 million in the first quarter of 2013, mainly fueled by strong growth in smart phones. This signals the vast number of opportunities in mobile application development. Considering this, and combined with the talent pool we have in the Middle East, we expect to receive a good number of unique and innovative applications from the region in this year’s Application Awards competition, all with the ambition to leverage on the rapid growth of smart phone demand in this part of the world,” said Anders Lindblad, president of Ericsson Middle East.

The theme of the 2014 competition is Apps for Working Life, in support of Ericsson’s vision of a Networked Society in which – through a combination of mobility, broadband, the cloud, applications and services — anything and everything is connected.