Nokia has announced through their Conversations blog that they will be launching DVLUP, their premier Windows Phone developer rewards program in more than twenty countries.
DVLUP was intially launched in the United States and Canada in 2012, to encourage developers by giving them points and rewards for various tasks carried out as part of application development. Developers earn XP and badges in the ongoing process and for competing in new challenges. Nokia calls it the "gamification" model. It also carries out promotion of the apps in the Windows Phone store or Nokia App Social with plans to introduce in-app, print and digital ads in the future.
Nokia has been trying hard to bring more developers to the Windows Phone platform since they are heavily invested in the platform themselves. With new devices launching at various price points, Nokia will be eager to gain marketshare in new countries and with the expansion of DVLUP, Nokia can expect to get more developers to create apps for Windows Phone. As of now the countries listed by Nokia are Australia, Canada, China, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Poland, UK, USA and Vietnam, with more to be added soon.
Developers can join the program at DVLUP using their Microsoft account/Windows Live ID for free.
Source: Nokia Conversations