MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Technology Provider Orange Offering $80k Via 2014 African Social Venture Prizes, Partner Award

French telephone and internet service provider Orange is accepting applications for its 2014 African Social Venture Prizes and the Partner Award through September 19, 2014, via Orange’s “pan-African web portal,”[1], http://www.starafrica.com. The awards aim to honor “innovative” products and services that promote “health, agriculture, education, energy, industry and trade”[1] in Africa.

The Orange African Social Venture Prizes include monetary awards of EUR 25,000 (USD 34,080) as the first prize, EUR 15,000 (USD 20,448) as the second prize and EUR 10,000 (USD 13,632) for the third-prize winner. The first-prize winner will also benefit from “a patent submission in the country of the project’s deployment”[1]. The Orange Partner Award, which includes a grant of EUR 10,000 (USD 13,632), will be given to a project using an Orange Application Programming Interface (API). In addition to the cash, each of the four selected projects will receive six months of consulting services “from entrepreneurship and ICT [information and communication technology] experts”[1].

Submitted projects must be designed to operate in an African country where Orange provides services[1]. Entrepreneurs who are at least 21 years old and legal entities that have been established for fewer than three years are eligible to enter the competitions. There is no restriction on nationality, and there is no charge for entering.

Orange S.A. established the Orange African Social Venture Prize in 2011 with the aim of rewarding entrepreneurs active in the African technology sector. The Orange Partner Award is new for 2014.

By Alíz Crowley, Research Associate

About Orange S.A.

French telecommunications corporation, Orange S.A. (Orange), is a multinational information and communication technology (ICT) service provider offering fixed telephony, mobile telephony and internet services. The company was created in the early 1990s, when Hutchinson Telecom acquired a controlling stake in Microtel Communications Limited and reorganized it under a new brand name “Orange”. In 1999, Orange became a subsidiary of Mannesmann, and in 2000 it was acquired by France Télécom. Orange is currently present in 30 countries globally, including 18 nations in Africa. As of March 31, 2014, its customer base included approximately 239 million customers, including approximately 100 million in Africa. The firm’s consolidated revenues reached EUR 41 billion (USD 55.7 billion) in 2014.

Sources and Additional Resources

[1] Orange launches the 4th edition of the Orange African Social Venture Prize

MicroCapital, May 19, 2014, Skoll Foundation Awards Microfinance Institution Fundación Capital of Colombia, 6 others $1.25m Each for Social Entrepreneurship

MicroCapital, April 8, 2014, European Microfinance Platform (e-MFP) Announces Fifth Microfinance Award of $132k for Environmental Initiatives

MicroCapital, March 4, 2014, Orange, Banco Popular Dominicano Launch M-Peso Mobile Payment Service in the Dominican Republic

MicroCapital, September 14, 2013, Orange, Visa Partner to Enhance Orange Money Mobile Payment System in Botswana

MicroCapital, November 15, 2010, Kenyan Microfinance Bank Equity Bank, Telecommunications Company Orange To Launch Mobile Money Program Iko-Pesa

MicroCapital Universe Profile: Orange S.A.

Do you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at https://www.microcapital.org/products-page/

Similar Posts: