FNB Honours Africa’s Brightest Developers at 2025 App of the Year CeremonyThe 2025 FNB App of the Year Awards took place in Johannesburg last night, uniting some of the brightest innovators in South African and African technology. The annual event once again highlighted the continent’s growing digital ecosystem, bringing together developers, industry leaders, partners, media, and sponsors to celebrate homegrown creativity and the apps that are transforming industries and improving lives.
This year’s top honour, the 2025 FNB App of the Year Award, went to Vula Medical, a groundbreaking medical referral app created by Dr. William Mapham. The idea for Vula emerged from Mapham’s experience at the Vula Emehlo Eye Clinic in rural Swaziland, where he saw first-hand how difficult it was for rural healthcare workers to access specialist advice. Vula solves this challenge through a secure digital platform that connects primary healthcare workers with specialists in real time. The app allows clinicians to share patient information, images, and detailed referral notes using customised digital forms, enabling faster decision-making, more accurate diagnoses, and meaningful reductions in unnecessary patient travel.
The impact has proven substantial. Published studies from health workers using Vula show that in nearly 30% of cases, patients initially seen at rural clinics did not need to travel to a specialist. Instead, they received remote specialist input through the app, saving them long, costly, and often stressful journeys. To date, Vula has enabled over 2.5 million patient referrals across more than 2 300 public and private facilities, supporting 105 categories of health workers.
Now in its 14th year, the FNB App of the Year Awards has evolved into Africa’s premier showcase of innovation. The platform honours standout apps across consumer, enterprise, financial services, education, agriculture, health, and other key sectors, while supporting the development of Africa’s digital talent pipeline.
This commitment extends beyond the awards ceremony. In 2025 alone, more than 33 000 young people graduated as full-stack developers through the FNB App Academy — a fully funded nine-week programme designed to give young tech entrepreneurs practical, industry-ready skills. FNB also hosted Africa’s largest hackathon, where over 10 000 participants raced to solve major socio-economic challenges in just 72 hours.
The awards have uncovered some of South Africa’s most influential digital success stories, including Checkers Sixty60, EskomSePush, Pineapple, Naked Insurance and last year’s winner, Matric Live.
Janis Robson, Business Development Head at FNB, says the platform continues to uncover solutions with strong commercial and social impact, connecting innovators with opportunities for funding and growth. Judges, including Ellen Fischat, Gareth Tresling and Jeff Manda, noted major trends this year, particularly the rise of AI companions, health-tech innovation, offline-first design, and apps tackling real-world challenges such as safety, education, and transport.
The evening concluded with winners announced across 12 categories, including Mr D, Droppa, FarmWise, iER, Stokvel Marketplace, and others — all reflecting the creativity and ambition driving Africa’s digital future.