At the time of writing this (1/12/2015) , South Africa is not on the list for valid Merchant accounts on Google Play Store and this is quite negative for the software industry in South Africa to develop and sell applications on Android as a platform.
The only options that are left on the Play Store is to make your applications available for free or add advertisements. The problem with advertisements are they make applications very unappealing to most people world wide , reducing the overall success rate of applications because of the negative ratings caused by the advertisements for being a disturbance
South Africa is a country that really could use this opportunity to encourage both accomplished developers and people who are just starting out to create and sell applications or games.
Unemployment in South Africa is very high and software development encourages people to try and make a living for themselves by being creative , creating effective programs and doing what they love most.
Mobile games have a considerably quicker development phase than some pc games or other large console games due to the limits of mobile devices or sometimes the simplicity of the games that can be made for mobile devices and still be fun to play. The Play Store can also act as another front to release games on a platform other than PC or console making it a much more worthy cause to develop the game because the mobile game market is currently doing so well and growing at an exponential rate.
Software and game development communities in South Africa are anxiously waiting for the Merchant Accounts to be available locally. There are threads upon threads on online forums because of this problem , reasons such as trying to find alternative ways to sell applications, but are usually not as successful.
The Play Store is one of the best places, if not the best , to make your software available and sell it , as Play Store is available by default on Android devices. For this reason people in general only use the Play Store or sometimes think that the Play Store is the only outlet for Android applications.
We humbly plead to Google that the mobile application and game developers of South Africa can also get the chance to make applications and be able to make a living from it , by finding a way to enable Merchant Accounts in South Africa.
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
March 11, 2016
March 9, 2016
We are approaching 250 signatures and I am using this total to finalize the proposal being sent to Google's regional office. Please circulate this link to professional developer networks today so we hit this benchmark before the submission deadline.
Reached 100 supporters
April 25, 2015
277 Comments
Please please please Google. South Africa desperately needs good software , made by locals , for locals and we need to create jobs. Our kids need add free educational software in their native languages, which South Africans can fo better than anyone. If it is our government that is causing the problem them please, parliament wake up!
In some respects it is shameful that Google will take our (South African's) money through AdWord campaigns etc but will not allow us to generate income through access to a developer merchant account. Kindly consider the views of the folk who have signed this petition and consider the facility in this region.
This is shameful - Google is not helping innovation in South Africa. It's mind boggling that as of Nov 2016, SA is not on the list of supported countries
We have released over 20 Android apps thus far, but are limited to only coding FREE APPS?! Why on earth can't we register as a merchant? It would greatly stimulate our South African app developer environment.
please allow south Africa a chance for mobile application development, I'm currently a 17 year old with aspirations of becoming a google play developer as an occcupation but dont have access to this option, please consider adding RSA to the list of valid choices
Please Add South Africa
Let the be
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At the time of writing this (1/12/2015) , South Africa is not on the list for valid Merchant accounts on Google Play Store and this is quite negative for the software industry in South Africa to develop and sell applications on Android as a platform.
The only options that are left on the Play Store is to make your applications available for free or add advertisements. The problem with advertisements are they make applications very unappealing to most people world wide , reducing the overall success rate of applications because of the negative ratings caused by the advertisements for being a disturbance
South Africa is a country that really could use this opportunity to encourage both accomplished developers and people who are just starting out to create and sell applications or games.
Unemployment in South Africa is very high and software development encourages people to try and make a living for themselves by being creative , creating effective programs and doing what they love most.
Mobile games have a considerably quicker development phase than some pc games or other large console games due to the limits of mobile devices or sometimes the simplicity of the games that can be made for mobile devices and still be fun to play. The Play Store can also act as another front to release games on a platform other than PC or console making it a much more worthy cause to develop the game because the mobile game market is currently doing so well and growing at an exponential rate.
Software and game development communities in South Africa are anxiously waiting for the Merchant Accounts to be available locally. There are threads upon threads on online forums because of this problem , reasons such as trying to find alternative ways to sell applications, but are usually not as successful.
The Play Store is one of the best places, if not the best , to make your software available and sell it , as Play Store is available by default on Android devices. For this reason people in general only use the Play Store or sometimes think that the Play Store is the only outlet for Android applications.
We humbly plead to Google that the mobile application and game developers of South Africa can also get the chance to make applications and be able to make a living from it , by finding a way to enable Merchant Accounts in South Africa.
Updates
Reached 250 supporters
March 11, 2016
March 9, 2016
We are approaching 250 signatures and I am using this total to finalize the proposal being sent to Google's regional office. Please circulate this link to professional developer networks today so we hit this benchmark before the submission deadline.
Reached 100 supporters
April 25, 2015
277 Comments
RSA would deliver a great contribution to app development across the whole continent, especially when devs can be incentivised by the monetization of their apps.
Please please please Google. South Africa desperately needs good software , made by locals , for locals and we need to create jobs. Our kids need add free educational software in their native languages, which South Africans can fo better than anyone. If it is our government that is causing the problem them please, parliament wake up!
In some respects it is shameful that Google will take our (South African's) money through AdWord campaigns etc but will not allow us to generate income through access to a developer merchant account. Kindly consider the views of the folk who have signed this petition and consider the facility in this region.
This is shameful - Google is not helping innovation in South Africa. It's mind boggling that as of Nov 2016, SA is not on the list of supported countries
We have released over 20 Android apps thus far, but are limited to only coding FREE APPS?! Why on earth can't we register as a merchant? It would greatly stimulate our South African app developer environment.
please allow south Africa a chance for mobile application development, I'm currently a 17 year old with aspirations of becoming a google play developer as an occcupation but dont have access to this option, please consider adding RSA to the list of valid choices
Please Add South Africa
Let the be
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RSA would deliver a great contribution to app development across the whole continent, especially when devs can be incentivised by the monetization of their apps.