Every year since 2011, the Orange Social Venture Prize aims to promote the development of positive –impact companies and start-ups that use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to improve living conditions for local populations.
The 14th Edition of the Orange Social Venture Prize (OSVP) is finally here! The Orange Social Venture Prize continues to stimulate social and environmental developments as well as innovation through information and communication technologies (ICT).
OSVP aims to reward projects or start-ups that offer exceptional solutions that address the needs of the populations in Botswana and Africa at large. This is done through showcasing entrepreneurs offering innovative products or services that solve problems in fields such as health, agriculture, education, energy, industry or trade.
Orange by your side
Our assistance programs and services for innovation are unique in their maturity and diversity.
We offer support programs and services at every moment of the life of your project. It is still an idea, it has already resulted in the creation of a start-up, or your start-up already mature requires increased efficiency.
We offer exchange platforms, facilitate access to our networks and services through API (Application Programming Interface), create acceleration mechanisms or specific incubation media for the financing and management.
Submit a project
What if your project is exactly what the world needs right now?
Orange identifies, supports and promotes digital talents, instigators of change. Give your startup a chance and benefit from the 13th edition of the Orange Social Venture Prize in Africa and the Middle-East.
You have until the 26th of May 2024 to submit your project for one of our national prizes. You stand a chance to win either P50 000.00, P30 000.00 or P20 000.00. From there, you may be selected for the International Grand Prix and possibly even go on to win €25,000, €15,000 or €10,000.
We also have an International Women’s Prize worth €20,000 celebrating excellence and accessibility. If you are a business woman or your start-up benefits women then this prize is for you.
Download competition rules
Social entrepreneurship is the use of creative, innovative economic approaches to develop projects and organizations to meet social and environmental needs (access to healthcare, education, energy, employment, agricultural, information, and so on). Basically, it's entrepreneurship, but with the central goal of having a social and/or environmental business impact rather than simply business impact.
The Orange Social Venture Prize rewards projects or start-ups created less than three years ago that offer high-tech solutions based on mobiles or the Internet to meet the needs of the populations in Africa and the Middle-East. The Award embodies the Group’s values and commitments in the MEA region.
Launched in 2011, the Prize is celebrating its 14th year and Orange teams in the region have been strongly engaged to make it happen. Since 2017, the Prize evolved in order to reward more startups: a first phase of national competitions takes place in the participating Orange countries (refer to the list of countries in the Rules document online https://startup.orange.com/en) and each country designates up to 3 national winners who automatically enter the International Grand Prize competition.
The International Women's Prize recognizes a woman or a project that uses technology to enhance women's living situations, including promoting independence, job creation or retention, gender data gathering, digital inclusion, and financial inclusion. The International Women's Prize represents Orange Group's dedication to women entrepreneurship.
Encouraging the emergence and success of women-led business projects.
1. Project led by a woman as founder or co-founder.
2. A financially sound project with a credible business plan covering at least 3 years.
3. Significant social and/or environmental impact
4. Using new technologies to improve people's living conditions.
5. Realistic, operational project with a team comprising at least one woman and associated partners.
Apply for the OSVP International Women's Prize and make your voice heard in the world of entrepreneurship!
No, each participant must submit their project only once by selecting the country of deployment of the project in the online registration form. The 3 winners from each country will automatically be positioned to enter the International Grand Prize competition in order to win €25,000 - €15,000 or €10,000.
For entrepreneurs who wish to participate in the two additional prizes, they have to indicate it on the registration form by answering “Yes” to the following questions:
They are people who identify a social need and use entrepreneurial approaches to create projects and organizations. They are often passionate, creative and like risk-taking.
Entrepreneurs over the age of 21 and start-ups operating for less than three years can qualify for the Prize.
There are no nationality requirements.
The projects must be implemented in one of the following countries in which Orange operates in Africa and the Middle-East, and listed in the Contest Rules.
The eligible countries are: Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Jordan, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Tunisia.
The candidates have to submit their application form online at https://startup.orange.com/en, by going to the “Orange Social Venture Prize” registration form.
The application must comply with the competition rules, also available on https://startup.orange.com/en.
In order to increase your chances of success in the Orange Social Venture Prize 2024, an Entrepreneur’s Guide is available in the OSVP section of the website.
https://startup.orange.com/en is the Orange internet portal dedicated to start-ups around the world, whatever their stage of maturity.
It is the media that allows relaying the contest on the web and organizing the subscription process. For more information, visit https://startup.orange.com/en
The Prize officially launched on 18 March 2024. Candidates can therefore submit their application as of 18 March 2024 (09:00am GMT) on https://startup.orange.com/en. The deadline for submissions is 26 May 2024 (9:00pm GMT).
The national juries will meet and nominate up to 3 national winners by country in September 2024 and the International Grand Jury will meet again later in ame monthe to select the 3 winners of the International Grand Prize. A novelty this year, two additional prizes will be awarded by the International Grand Jury: an international women's prize and a special 14th year prize.
The juries are made up of members who are all professionals working in the ICT, innovation or development sectors, mainly in Africa and the Middle-East.
The jury will consider the social and environmental impact of the projects, their degree of innovation, the possibility of expanding the product or service to several countries and the financial viability and feasibility of the projects submitted.
