Orange, a multinational telecommunications corporation with, has announced the winners of the Orange Social Venture Prize 2019.
The winners were unveiled at AfricaCom, the largest technology trade show in Africa, held in Cape Town on 12-14 November.
They are:
1st prize: Chaque souffle compte (every breath counts) manufactures interactive neonatal incubators that can be remotely controlled via a physician’s smartphone. They are used to decrease preventable deaths among premature babies in Cameroon and across Africa.
2nd prize: J-Palm Liberia sets up and operates mini palm oil processing plants in rural areas. This has increased palm oil extraction rates by 50% while reducing processing time, to improve the incomes of smallholders.
3rd prize: Flit Ride connects passengers and taxi drivers in Madagascar.
They were rewarded with €25,000, €15,000 and €10,000 respectively, and will benefit from over three months of personalised support from Orange experts or partners to develop their project.
The competition, which is held in 17 of the countries where Orange operates, was organised in two stages. During the first stage, out of 1,333 applications received, 48 innovative projects were chosen as winners and rewarded in the relevant country.
Then 10 projects were selected and presented to an international jury made up of professionals, investors and institutions. Of the ten projects, three were chosen as finalists.
This year for the first time, five countries – Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Morocco – created a prize for innovative digital projects by women or targeting the female population.
For the ninth year running, Orange awarded the Orange Social Venture Prize in Africa and the Middle East at a special ceremony at its stand at AfricaCom.
Since 2011, the Orange Prize for Social Entrepreneurship in Africa and the Middle East rewards innovative and responsible company projects that have a concrete social or environmental impact in fields as diverse as education, health, agriculture, mobile payment, and sustainable development.
