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Applications have opened for the eighth edition of the annual Orange Social Venture Prize in Africa and the Middle East, which rewards innovative projects that improve people’s living conditions.
Applications are open until May 31, with Orange looking for tech-based social projects in fields such as education, healthcare, farming, mobile payments and sustainable development.
The competition will start with a national phase, during which each of the 17 participating Orange subsidiaries will assess the projects submitted in its country and select three winners.
This will be followed by an international phase, during which all 51 national winners will compete in front of an international jury which will present the Orange Social Venture Prize grand prize to the three final winners at the AfricaCom Awards event, to be held in Cape Town, South Africa in November.
In addition to their national prizes, the three winners will receive EUR25,000 (US$30,500), EUR15,000 (US$18,000) and EUR10,000 (US$12,000) respectively, as well as six months of personalised support from startup creation and financing professionals.
The Orange Social Venture Prize is open to all students, employees and entrepreneurs over te of age 21 whose initiative is under three years old and serves any of Botswana, Cameroon, Egypt, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Central African Republic (CAR), Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Senegal, Tunisia, Jordan, Liberia or Burkina Faso.
“1,200 projects were submitted in 2017, a 60 per cent 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, chief executive officer (CEO) of Orange Middle East and Africa.
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