Orange launches the 15th edition of the Orange Social Venture Prize in Africa and the Middle East

Since 2011, the OSVP prize has been rewarding innovative start-up projects

The 15th Orange Social Venture Prize in Africa and the Middle East will open for submissions on Monday, March 11, 2025. Candidates from the 17 countries within the Orange footprint have until May 18, 2025, to submit their project on the website.

Since 2011, the OSVP prize has been rewarding innovative start-up projects that use and develop new technologies to make a positive impact in Africa and the Middle East in the fields such as education, healthcare, e-commerce, agriculture, or environment. Through this prize, Orange, as a committed operator, aims to contribute to the socio-economic development, support social and environmental innovation, and encourage entrepreneurship.

The competition has two stages:
A national stage to collect applications, between March and May 2025 in Orange’s 17 subsidiaries in Africa and the Middle East. At the end of the competition, the national winners will be chosen by a panel of judges made up of members of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and Orange representatives.

An international stage, where each subsidiary will be represented by its 3 national winners and up to 3 women entrepreneurs competing for the International Women’s Prize. The projects will be evaluated by an evaluation committee made up of Group employees. Following their evaluation, 10 finalists will be chosen for the International Grand Prize and 5 for the International Women’s Prize.

A final jury made up of leading figures from tech and entrepreneurship in Africa and the Middle East will then be responsible, in October 2025, for choosing the 3 winners of the International Grand Prize and the winner of the OSVP International Women’s Prize from among the 15 projects selected by Orange Group employees. The winners will receive a financial contribution of:
€25,000 for the 1st prize-winner.
€15,000 for the 2nd prize-winner.
€10,000 for the 3rd prize-winner.
€20,000 for the winner of the International Women’s Prize.

Since its launch in 2011, OSVP, which has received nearly 15,000 applications, has a tangible impact on the lives of the winning entrepreneurs. More than 500 entrepreneurs have been supported and rewarded, including around a hundred at the international level.

In addition to financial support, OSVP winners benefit from support within Orange Digital Centers with the prospect of developing their business outside the borders of their respective countries.