Chinese telecoms firm Huawei announced on Wednesday that it has decided to organize a hackathon in early December to encourage Kenyan software developers to come up with innovations that could hasten the growth of the digital economy.

Executives said the Huawei AppCube Hackathon, scheduled from Dec. 2-6, is open to young innovators yearning to develop solutions that foster e-commerce, virtual learning and enhanced connectivity among citizens.

Lin Xiaonan, director of delivery and service at Huawei Kenya, reiterated the firm's commitment to fostering digital transformation in the East African nation through deploying new products and innovations.

"We believe in the transformative power of technology to improve lives and drive economic growth," Lin said in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, during Huawei's Empowering Digital Transformation Forum that coincided with the announcement of the upcoming AppCube Hackathon.

Huawei's software products and solutions, including Huawei Cloud, Artificial Intelligence Contact Center, Data Operation Platform and Appcube, once deployed at scale, will drive competitiveness, growth and profitability of Kenyan enterprises, Lin observed.

To unfold at the Huawei office in Nairobi, the AppCube Hackathon will bring together young software developers and mentors to explore mobile and cloud-based applications that could transform livelihoods.

Brian Wahinya, engineering team lead at Huawei Kenya, said the hackathon will be an annual event that offers an opportunity for local developers to showcase software products that have the potential to advance the digital economy.

According to Wahinya, Huawei AppCube is a platform that provides a seamless and cost-effective way for software developers to come up with applications for enhancing service delivery and commerce.

In addition, Wahinya said the platform has acted as an accelerator for enterprise digitization, adding that more than 5,000 developers are using it to manage business operations, fostering virtual payments and education.

Mavine Rakiro, software innovation lead at Huawei Kenya, said participants at the forthcoming hackathon are expected to develop end-to-end and intelligent solutions that can improve efficiency and revenue in both public and private sectors.