Orange launches second edition of the Orange African Social Venture Prize 2012

Orange last month launched the second edition of its Orange African Social Venture Prize. The goal is to promote social innovation that supports development through Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

The poster for the Orange social venture prize. Click to enlarge.

Last Year’s Winners

Last year, more than 600 candidates responded to the call for projects, reflecting the strong entrepreneurial spirit and the high potential of telecommunications services in Africa. Of the 634 entries, 55 projects were from Kenyan entrepreneurs; representing close to 10% of the entries drawn from the 18 Orange affiliate in Africa. One of these 55, Kuza Doctor, an agriculture oriented project, was shortlisted as one of the final 10 projects.

The three prize-winners of the first edition, announced at the AfricaCom Awards in Cape Town in November 2011, proposed the following projects:

– Horticultural Tele-Irrigation: a Nigerien project that puts mobile technology in the hands of horticulturalists;
– Agasha Business Network: a Ugandan community-based e-commerce platform that promotes small African businesses to the global market;
– Kachile: an Ivory Coast e-commerce start-up for African craft products.

The Orange African Social Venture Prize will be awarded once again this year to three entrepreneurs or start-ups offering solutions that use ICT in innovative ways to meet the needs of populations on the African continent. Projects proposed during the first edition covered a variety of fields, such as healthcare, agriculture, banking services and education.

In addition to receiving an endowment of 10,000 to 25,000 Euros, the three prize-winners will receive six months of support from entrepreneurial and ICT experts

How to Apply

Applications will be accepted from May 22, 2012 to September 21, 2012 on Orange’s pan-African web portal, www.starafrica.com

The rules can be accessed at The rules

I wish you good luck in your application. Hopefully, these ventures shall be successful in transforming Africa’s development landscape positively.