Orange has announced the winners of the 2016 Orange Social Venture Prize for Africa and the Middle East during the AfricaCom Awards ceremony held in Cape Town, South Africa, last night.
The prize, which aims to encourage start-ups in Africa to launch innovative projects that promote development, has been extended this year to the Middle East. A new award, the Special Prize for Cultural Content, was also been introduced.
Out of the eleven projects were shortlisted and presented on Orange’s new pan-African web portal for entrepreneurs in the region, Entrepreneur Club, three prize winners emerged receiving grants of 25,000;15,000 and 10,000EUR.
The winners were then selected by a jury made up of experts from Orange, journalists, investors and institutions that promote development.
In addition, the shortlisted finalists and the winner of the Special Prize for Cultural Content will benefit from six months of support from Orange experts and the NGO Grow Movement (http://GrowMovement.org). The first prize winner will also be offered a patent registration.
While speaking, CEO of Orange MEA,Bruno Mettling said: “with nearly 3,500 projects filed since 2011, the Orange Social Venture prize has grown into a huge success; the 750 candidate projects that were submitted in 2016 amply illustrate this.
“The start-up ecosystem now increasingly recognizes Orange as an indispensable partner that is able to support their development: 95% of the winning start-ups since the award’s inception are still growing today. I thank them for their confidence.”
The first prize was awarded to MedTrucks, from Morocco for creating support patients and healthcare professionals through the deployment of mobile care units in “medical deserts”.
In the same vein, Nanoé from Madagascar clinched the second prize for the ambition to deploy a new kind of electrification system, known as “lateral electrification”, in order to meet the short-term needs of remote populations that do not have access to the main energy grid.
The third prize was awarded to Ma Tontine from Senegal for seeking to solve the problem of how to provide financial services, including the provision of small loans, to the poor.
Meanwhile, The Special Prize for Cultural Content was awarded to Bulles Magazine, Côte d’Ivoire, a monthly magazine for 6-10-year old children that promotes African culture..
For the sixth year in a row, the Orange Group has recognised four innovative projects that further development within the region.
