The Orange Social Venture Prize in Africa and the Middle Easts Entrepreneurs 2024: (Deadline 26 May, 2024)

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.

17 national on the road of the OSVP

To collect and assess as many positive impact business projects as possible, national competitions have taken place every year since 2011 in our local Orange African and Middle Eastern countries.

Each country chooses its three most promising initiatives which meet the entry conditions. These automatically qualify for the International Grand Prix or International Women’s Prize.

The national selections therefore constitute the first phase of the OSVP.

About Orange Cyberdefense

Orange Cyberdefense is the expert cybersecurity business unit of the Orange Group, providing managed security, managed threat detection & response services to organizations around the globe. As Europe’s go-to security provider, we strive to protect freedom and build a safer digital society. The UK business was created following the acquisition and merge of SecureData Europe and SecureLink UK into the Orange Cyberdefense Group….

Orange Social Venture Prize

Aim and Benefits of Orange Social Venture Prize

International Grand Prix:

• 1st prize: €25,000
• 2nd prize: €15,000
• 3rd prize: €10,000

The 10 finalists within the OSVP International Grand Prix and the winner of the International Women’s Prize will also receive 6 to 9 months of business development support.

International Women’s Prize:

• Winner: €20,000

Orange Social Venture Prize Courses

• Entrepreneurship

Requirements for Orange Social Venture Prize Qualification

Apply from March 18 to May 26 2024

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
  • Botswana,
  • Burkina Faso,
  • Cameroon,
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo,
  • Egypt,
  • Equatorial Guinea,
  • Guinea Bissau,
  • Guinea Conakry,
  • Ivory Coast
  • Jordan,
  • Liberia,
  • Madagascar,
  • Mali, Morocco,
  • Central African Republic,
  • Senegal,
  • Sierra Leone,
  • and Tunisia

Interview date, Process and Venue for Orange Social Venture Prize

Key stages

• 2024 National phase
• From  March 18 to May 26: Applications are open
• From May 27 to August 30: Assessment and nomination of national candidates

Each application will be assessed according to the rules of the national competitions and up to three winners will be selected in each country.

2024 International phase

• From September 2 to 26: Assessment and nomination of international candidates
• End of October: Ceremony

The finalists will be evaluated by a grand jury of influential representatives from the African tech world, who will choose the three overall winners of the International Grand Prix. This jury will also be responsible for choosing the winner of the International Women’s Prize.

Application Deadline

May 26, 2024

How to Apply

Interested and qualified? Go to Orange Cyberdefense on poesam.orange.com to apply

1. Go to Connection to create your account
2. Go to Submit your candidature to complete the registration form after having carefully read the guidelines

Creating an account

Before you register, you’ll first need to create an account and provide:

• Your first name/last name
• Your address
• Your email address
• Your company’s email address
• Your phone number (optional).

You’ll receive a password by email which you can later change in your account. Once you’ve created your account, you will no longer be able to change your name, surname, or email address.

Preparing the documents to complete your registration

1/ Project logo: the graphic representation of your project or company.

This is not mandatory, but we recommend you provide a logo that is easy to identify to help you stand out.

Required format:

• JPG, PNG, GIF
• 150x150px
• 200 KB max

2/ Project overview: this enables our selection committees to understand your business idea along with its level of maturity and progress. It also tells them more about the motivation and skills of the project lead.

Required format:

• PDF
• 10 MB max

The file name of your presentation must be exactly the same as the name of the project mentioned in the first field of the entry form.

Presenting your project

• Summary presentation of the Project: between 1,000 and 2,000 characters, outlining the social/environmental your ICT solution will address.
• Market analysis: segmentation, SWOT, competition, partners (financial, strategic etc.).
• Identification of the market opportunity.
• Presentation of the product/service proposed.
• Information about the management team.
• Financial forecasts for three (3) years (business plan).
• Evaluation of the societal impact. In addition, for the International Women’s Prize, an assessment of how your ICT solution will positively impact women.

Feel free to include a link to a video if you have one to support your presentation.

Recommendations for completing your project summary

What problem does your company wish to solve?

Present the social and/or environmental problem that you wish to address through your ICT solution (maximum 200 characters).

What solution does your company provide?

Here you will describe the solution you’re developing (maximum 200 characters). Write it in such a way that you engage your audience and stand out from the competition.

Describe your project

For this vital step, the challenge is to convince your audience that your project is essential (1000 to 1,500 characters). Show that this project is groundbreaking and leading your field.

Your registration form:

• 2 pages: “Identity” (page 1) and “Project description” (page 2)
• Required fields are marked with *
• Drop-down menu for fields: “Country of Deployment” and “Sector”.

You have until the closing date (26 May2024) to modify the information shared on your application as well as your application file.

You can also save the form and complete it later by clicking on the “save” button. Next time you log in, you can pick up where you left off.

• By taking part, you agree to fill in all the necessary details within the application form so your entry can be verified, and you can be contacted if your project is selected.
• Your application will not be validated if it contains inappropriate text or images.

Any incomplete, erroneous, false, counterfeit, or fraudulent application will be deleted, and you will be disqualified from the competition.

Application ready to submit?

Click on the “Submit my application” button.

Once you have submitted your application, you will see a summary page. If you need to make any further changes, you must delete the entire application and begin the process again.