Huawei has continued to build its own ecosystem after the American ban in 2019 that made them lose access to Google Apps, including the Play Store. Today, they’ve announced that local bank apps are now available on AppGallery, which is the company’s one-stop app for Apps and Games.

After the ban came to effect, one of the worries by many users getting new Huawei devices was where they’d get local apps from. Huawei decided to directly partner with developers, especially local ones, so as to get them to publish their applications on the AppGallery. This is seemingly bearing fruit.

Huawei users in Kenya can now download quickly and safely many banking apps available on the AppGallery such as:

Stanbic Bank
Absa Kenya
SC Mobile
MCo-OpCash
Equity Eazzy Banking
DTB and
NCBA Loop.

AppGallery is now one of the top three marketplaces globally with more than 530 million monthly active users across 170 countries. The platform has 2.3 million registered developers globally, with more than 45,000 developers from the Middle East and Africa.

Since last year, leading banking apps have been integrated within AppGallery in Kenya, enabling users to access their bank accounts on the go from the convenience of their mobile devices.

By joining the Huawei ecosystem, developers are always at the heart of Huawei strategy. The company says throughout the whole process, from the apps’ integration within AppGallery until the official launch of the banking app on the distribution platform, Huawei provides full-spectrum operational support, data analytics, and marketing to its partners by mobilizing local resources from diverse departments. Huawei’s ecosystem team in charge of the technical support works alongside the developer in every integration step. It ensures the mobile app is successfully integrated within the Huawei Mobile Services (HMS). Thanks to its open capabilities, the HMS Core enables traditional sectors (Like banking) to fast-track digital transformation and help developers within the industry use its innovative technology to offer high-quality apps to their users.

The company says supports does not end after the integration process; banks can also extend their partnerships with AppGallery and benefit from various co-branded campaigns to unlock more business opportunities and brand exposure. From end-to-end digital acquisition, product & offers amplification, ecommerce partnership for card spends, referral programs, app engagement & registrations to 360 integrated joint marketing campaigns – the options are limitless. To date, several partners from the banking industry have benefited from these campaigns. They have seen successful results and up to 200% increase in app exposure and downloads from the AppGallery.

Lu Geng, Vice President Middle East, and Africa Global Partnerships & Eco-Development said, “The rapid growth of AppGallery portfolio within the financial and banking app industry in the Middle East and Africa is a result of our continuous effort on working closely with local entities and supporting them from various perspectives. It also pursues our aim to integrate innovative and high-quality apps, providing Huawei users with the most relevant local and global apps.”

AppGallery also deploys a series of privacy and security measures, ensuring users a safe and convenient platform to download apps from.

In terms of data protection, Huawei says the highest level of verification to isolate and protect users’ sensitive data and privacy has been made in place, personally sensitive information (such as biometric data) will not be processed outside the Huawei device, giving the complete user control over their personal data. During installation, AppGallery protects app data from being read for nefarious purposes and avoids the irreparable loss caused by user data leakage via procedures such as sandboxing, memory protection, regular backtesting, and customer service feedback. Moreover, Huawei claims the platform can detect malicious app behavior like eavesdropping on users, monitor users, and take screenshots or screen recordings without authorization. It also conducts privacy disclosure inspections for apps that call, collect, or upload sensitive data from users without permission.