Africa and Middle East
Competition
Entrepreneurship
Details
An undeniable catalyst for progress, technological innovation can only reach its full potential if it is supported by a solid, viable business proposition that meets current and future social and environmental needs.
As well as encouraging innovation, Orange also rewards the positive entrepreneurial spirit of dynamic start-ups within the framework of its Social Venture Prize. Since 2011 this International Grand Prix competition has welcomed start-ups from 17 countries in Africa and the Middle East. It identifies, rewards, and supports business propositions that make a positive social and environmental impact.
To encourage sustainable, responsible, and inclusive development, the International Women’s Prize was introduced in 2020, promoting business ventures led by women entrepreneurs or with the primary purpose of improving women’s lives.
Criteria
The Orange Ventures MEA Seed Challenge is open to startups in Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of the, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Jordan, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Tunisia.
Candidates must:
- Be 21 years and over
- Present a social entrepreneurship project based on NICT (New Information and Communication Technologies)
- The candidates must present a project that involves at least one of the 17 countries
- Ideally, the business idea should include a prototype or demo
Benefits
- The International Grand Prix awards three prizes from €10 000 to €25 000 and each includes several months of support from Orange experts to accelerate your business development
- In addition, the Group is renewing its support for female entrepreneurship again this year through the International Women’s Prize launched in 2020 and worth €20,000
- The international finalists will also benefit from nine months of support consisting of individualised follow-up and practical training to accelerate the development of their projects
About Orange
Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with sales of 42 billion euros in 2019 and 147,000 employees worldwide at 31 December 2019, including 87,000 employees in France. The Group has a total customer base of 266 million customers worldwide at 31 December 2019, including 207 million mobile customers and 21million fixed broadband customers. The Group is present in 26 countries. Orange is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies, under the brand Orange Business Services. In December 2019, the Group presented its new "Engage 2025" strategic plan, which, guided by social and environmental accountability, aims to reinvent its operator model. While accelerating in growth areas and placing data and AI at the heart of its innovation model, the Group will be an attractive and responsible employer, adapted to emerging professions.