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Orange celebrated 15 years of commitment to impact entrepreneurship by revealing the winners of the Orange Social Ventures Prize (OSVP) at an international ceremony held during the Mobile World Congress Kigali in Rwanda.
The 15th edition of the OSVP saw five startups selected from a pool of 70 finalists across 17 countries rewarded for their creativity and positive social impact. The winners will receive support from the Orange Digital Center to accelerate their project development and expand into new markets.
The OSVP International Grand Prize recognizes projects that combine measurable social or environmental impacts, strong potential for large-scale development, and reliance on new technologies.
The winners of the International Grand Prize are:
1st Prize (€25,000): Sand to Green (Morocco) — An agritech platform that models profitable and regenerative agroforestry plantations to help transition towards sustainable and resilient systems.
2nd Prize (€15,000): E-Blood Bank Makila (Democratic Republic of the Congo) — A digital platform connecting hospitals, blood banks, and donors, featuring secure payments and fast blood deliveries by drone or motorcycle.
3rd Prize (€10,000): N’Zassa Fund (Ivory Coast) — An African gamified micro-donations mobile application that transforms donations into fun experiences to support local NGOs via mobile money.
Two additional special awards were presented:
International Women’s Prize (€20,000): Proverdy (Tunisia) — An AI platform helping companies measure, manage, and reduce their carbon footprint, offering compliant reporting and certified offset projects.
Prize Coup de Coeur (€10,000): Maarifa (Botswana) — An AI-powered online learning platform offering personalized and accessible teaching to improve academic success.
The OSVP, established in 2011, illustrates Orange’s long-standing commitment to stimulate technological innovation in the service of sustainable development and inclusion.
Yasser Shaker, CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa, emphasized the prize’s evolution, noting, “In 15 years, POESAM has become far more than an award… it stands today as Africa’s leading platform for innovation, empowering entrepreneurs who turn challenges into opportunities”.
The enthusiasm for the prize continues to grow, with nearly 17,600 applications received since its launch, including a significant 82% increase in participation this year over the previous one. The 15th edition highlighted the rise of impact entrepreneurship and the increasing contribution of women to technological dynamics in Africa and the Middle East.
