Applications open for 8th Orange Social Venture Prize competition

Telecommunications giant Orange has opened applications for the eighth Orange Social Venture Prize in Africa and the Middle East.

Applications, which opened on 1 March, will close 31 May.

The Orange Social Venture Prize aims to reward innovation in information and communication technology — particularly in education, healthcare, agriculture, mobile payments and sustainable development — which improves the living conditions of people in Africa and the Middle East.

Orange Social Venture Prize applicants have to be over 21 years old and must be resident in one of 17 countries where Orange has subsidiaries

The prize, which was launched in 2011, has since its launch provided support to 20 projects.

“1,200 projects were submitted in 2017, a 60% increase over 2016. Support for talented startups is at the heart of Orange’s development strategy. With the Orange Social Venture Prize, we reaffirm our commitment to being a partner for the innovators working to improve daily life ever year,” said Bruno Mettling, Orange Middle East and Africa CEO said in a statement.

How it works

To be eligible, applicants have to be over 21 years old.

The competition will start with a national phase during which each of the 17 participating Orange subsidiaries — namely Botswana, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Tunisia, Jordan, Liberia, and Burkina-Faso — will assess the projects submitted and select three winners in their respective countries.

Thereafter, the 51 finalists will compete before an international panel of judges, which will then present the Orange Social Venture Prize to the three final winners at AfricaCom in Cape Town this November.

The first, second and third place winners will get €25 000, €15 000 and €10 000 respectively, as well as six months of tailored support from startup incubation and financing experts.