The problem is that there is no legitimacy and people fear that their applications will be stolen, Colaco added. But with an entity like Nokia, which has substantial local presence, more developers will participate, Colaco said.

"I have seen very nice mobile applications locally, but people just share with friends and they do not upload them online or monetize the software; they share it free," Nokia's Gikunda observed.

Patenting and the trademarking of digital material is still a challenge in Kenya, but Nokia is willing to work with the police and the Bureau of Standards to raise awareness on intellectual property issues, said Dorothy Ooko, Nokia communications manager for East and Southern Africa.

"With the infrastructure projects nearing completion, cost of bandwidth will drastically reduce and users will be downloading relevant applications; the best thing is for developers to address local needs," Ooko said.

The Ovi store is expected to start accepting applications next month. Developers will get 70 percent of the revenue and can track the number of downloads through the Ovi Web site.