The app gap: Has the Caribbean missed the development opportunity?

According to Grand View Research, the global mobile app market was valued at USD 206.85 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 13.8% between 2023 and 2030. However, mobile app development no longer seems to be a focus of Caribbean businesses or software developers. Have we missed that boat?

 

In an article published earlier this week, global tech giant, Apple, “announced the App Store ecosystem facilitated USD 1.1 trillion in developer billings and sales in 2022”, and experienced 29% growth. These findings were part of a study conducted by Analysis Group, which also reported that, among other things, “Small developers in particular found tremendous success on the App Store — outpacing larger developers by growing their revenue by 71 percent between 2020 and 2022.”

To a considerable degree, we take mobile/cellular software applications (apps) for granted. They are integral not just to our smartphone experience, but also to our productivity and leisure options. The app ecosystem has thus become more sophisticated, as the number and categories of apps have exploded in recent years – evidenced by the continued growth Apple has reported.

About ten years ago, the Caribbean tech and business spaces were excited about app development. Hackathons and app development competitions were common – even frequent – and often had the objective of building solutions for local or regional problems. There were also the start-ups and informal groups that wanted to be the next Facebook, or build the next Candy Crush. Hence a variety of apps were being developed, which in most instances were being offered either for free but configured to generate revenue through advertisements, or using a freemium model.

At the same time, the catchphrase “There’s an app for that” seemed to have taken hold in the Caribbean business community, Many organisations explored (to varying degrees) having their own app, and at the time, there was talk about template apps that could be easily customised and brought on stream relatively quickly.

However, by 2018, as was explored in our article, Is it just me, or has the app development craze died down in the Caribbean?, the region’s mobile app development space seemed less vibrant than it had been. However, whilst app development in the region seemed to have waned, globally it has been growing exponentially. So have we missed that opportunity?

 

Building a successful app is not that easy

As was noted earlier, consumer taste and expectations have grown over the past decade, hence increasingly, today’s apps need to be well-designed and well-executed, whilst also providing users with an enjoyable user experience. However, having a well-built app is no guarantee of success.

Essentially, successful app development operates as a business, which is carefully planned and resourced, not just to build the app, but also to develop the customer base. Hence, marketing and promotion, which itself has become more sophisticated and competitive in the digital age, now requires a cogent strategy and effort, noting that worldwide there are over 8.93 million apps available vying for users’ attention (Source: BankMyCell).

Among Caribbean apps, a frequent yet informal observation was that they were often conceptualised to solve very local problems. As a result, it was difficult to adjust them to find and wider audience, regionally or internationally. And when coupled with the underdeveloped business models that were usually employed, switching one’s attention and effort to more viable (or even lucrative) pursuits was a frequent outcome.  

 

Has the Caribbean region missed the app development boat?

One of the biggest challenges app developers experience generally, is how to increase the visibility of their products in such huge marketplaces. The odds are that an app will not be viable or considered successful unless consumers are downloading and using them. To that end, and at an earlier time, efforts were made in some quarters to highlight the known Caribbean apps, in the hope of highlighting their existence in a space where they are often overshadowed by similar or competing apps. However, that effort appears to have also waned.

Having said this, and noting the continued growth of the app market, it could be argued that there is still the opportunity for a Caribbean-developed app to make it big in a global app store. However, it is unlikely to be a fluke, but a venture that has been carefully planned and executed.

We often highlight the uniqueness of Caribbean countries and culture, lament the appropriation that has occurred, and that we should be doing more in that regard. Hence, there may still be opportunities and innovative app-based ventures that can be explored and developed. However, people with vision and resources would be critical to play the inevitable long game.

 

A case for a Caribbean app store?

 Having a successful app in Google Play or the Apple App Store is a significant achievement and is often the prize upon which many developers and businesses focus. However, software applications are often created to solve problems whilst also facilitating greater and more personal access through portable devices. For Caribbean developers or apps geared towards addressing Caribbean issues, it can be a lot of hassle to wade through all of the options global app stores may be quick to recommend apps that have little or no relevance to our local situation.

A platform that highlights apps more aligned with the needs of Caribbean users or even visitors to the region could improve the viability of these apps and incentivise the developers to give them the requisite attention. Having said this, some would argue such an approach is taking away from the more covered presence in the global app stores. However, noting that the revenue per app download varies significantly but tends to vary between USD 0.02 and USD 1.00 (Sources:  Forbes; Sensor Tower), and more recently, 90% of billings and sales for iOS apps were conducted outside the Apple App Store, establishing channels outside app stores to directly engage users is a smart move.

 

 

Image credit:  William Hook (Unsplash)