Egyptians Nailed Facebook’s Bots for Messenger Challenge

Egyptians occupied 15 places out of the top 30 finalists list in the Bots for Messenger Developer Challenge that Facebook selected from the hundreds of entries it received from across the Middle East and North Africa.

The Bots for Messenger Challenge is a contest that Facebook launched to recognize and reward developers who create the most innovative new bots on Messenger. Developers, in teams of up to three people, were invited to create bots in three categories: gaming and entertainment; productivity and utility; and social good.

Four out of the top 10 finalists in the gaming and entertainment category were Egyptians, which are: Harry Botter, Mastermind Games Bot, Tic Tac Toe, and Mystery Bot.

And five out of the top 10 finalists in the productivity and utility category were Egyptians, which are: Adam (9 months), The HireHunt Bot, Hangouts Assistant, MathHook, and Scientebot. While six out of the top 10 finalists in the social good category were Egyptians; ChefBot, Blood Bot, Mr. Ink, Lancerbot, Mujeeb-Marj3, and HarassMap Bot.

Each team of the finalists won a Gear VR and mobile phone, one hour of Facebook mentorship, and tools and services from FbStart; a Facebook program designed to help early stage mobile start-ups build and grow their bots. All student teams who made it to the finals won an additional $2,000.

Emeka Afigbo, Facebook’s Head of Platform Partnerships for the Middle East and Africa

“We were overwhelmed to receive more than 1,000 entries over two and a half months for the Bots for Messenger Challenge from developers and entrepreneurs across the Middle East and Africa—each one of them solving a problem in an inventive way or enriching the lives of its target user,” Emeka Afigbo, Facebook’s Head of Platform Partnerships for the Middle East and Africa, said.