Maker of BlackBerry smartphones Research in Motion has announced the opening of its second apps lab in South Africa.

The new lab is based in Cape Town and follows on the launch of the BlackBerry apps lab at the University of Pretoria (UP) in May this year.

The labs provide local developers, including students, start-ups, entrepreneurs and others, with access to resources in development, marketing, sales and training to help them expand their ideas and business opportunities.

“Cape Town is a key innovation hub, and a natural site for RIM’s second BlackBerry apps lab in South Africa,” said Alexandra Zagury, managing director for South Africa and Southern Africa at RIM.

“We are now looking forward to fostering mobile innovation in the Western Cape and helping to grow South Africa’s next wave of mobile app developers. Our investment in this lab is a signal of our commitment to supporting South Africa’s thriving BlackBerry developer ecosystem.”

RIM plans to work with developers at the Cape Town lab to create local and regionally relevant applications for the firm’s smartphones and PlayBook tablets, as well as for devices running the upcoming BlackBerry 10 operating system.

The BlackBerry apps labs form part of RIM’s extensive developer programme that spans Africa and includes facilities in key innovation hubs in Nigeria, Kenya, and Egypt.