The seventh edition of the Orange Social Venture Prize 2017 in Africa and the Middle East, which recognizes innovative projects in fields such as health, finance, education and agriculture is open for applications.
The main aim of this program is to award social entrepreneurs who are often passionate, creative, risk-taking, and leaders in society and want to become change agents when identifying a social need and use entrepreneurial approaches to create these projects and organizations.
After going through the national application and selection phase contestants in the participating Orange countries, three lucky winners at that phase gain an automatic entry to the International Grand Prix where three overall winners will receive cash prizes totaling to EUR50,000 (US$53,000). The Prize is awarded to three entrepreneurs or startups created less than three years ago that offer high-tech solutions based on mobiles or the Internet to meet the needs of the poorest populations in Africa and the Middle-East.
The international award ceremony will take place on November 8th at the AfricaCom Awards, the telecoms reference conference in Africa that will be held in Cape Town, South Africa.
The competition is open to any student, employee or entrepreneur over the age of 21 whose initiative is less than three-years-old and based in Botswana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea-Conakry, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Niger, the Central African Republic (CAR), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Senegal, Tunisia, Jordan, Liberia or Burkina Faso.
To register for this great social entrepreneurship competition click on the link for more information regarding the application process.
“With a record 750 candidates in 2016, the success of the OSVPAM prize with entrepreneurs in Africa and the Middle East speaks for itself,” said Bruno Mettling, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Orange group and CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa.
“This year, 17 countries in which we operate will recognize 3 winners, the better to promote the local start-up ecosystem, in addition to the winners at the international level. This is our way of reaffirming our ambition of becoming a major partner, in particular by showcasing innovation that serves people,” Bruno added.
Image credits : Entrepreneur Club
