Orange has announced the three winners of the African Social Venture Prize.  

The first prize was awarded to Vivus Limited, a start-up from Côte d’Ivoire that allows agricultural or farm produce traders to optimize their stocks by adjusting to supply and demand, thereby avoiding waste. A SMS-based system provides traders with real-time information on the latest deals enabling them to order the exact quantity of stocks required. This system will contribute to the development of a more efficient and profitable trade-cycle. –         

The Takachar project, which has already been launched in Kenya, was awarded second prize. This provides an innovative system to improve waste management by using telecoms technologies to track waste collection in real time. This enables cooperatives to operate more efficiently and increases the proportion of organic waste that can be transformed into charcoal. –      

The third prize was awarded to the e-commerce business Niokobok. This business enables Senegalese people living abroad to send basic necessities to their families back home avoiding the extra cost of transferring money and enabling them to better manage their finances. Twenty-three references are already available for basic foods as well as hygiene and cleaning products. 

In addition to funding of up to 25,000 euros, Orange will provide support to the three projects for six months from its local subsidiaries as well as expert advice from business and telecoms professionals. In addition, a “favourite project” was selected by visitors of the Group’s web portal StarAfrica. Over 50,000 visitors voted for the Egyptian start-up “Innovative Electronic Employment Platform”. This innovative recruitment service uses an interactive platform and SMS alerts to help people seeking short-term jobs or freelance work to complement their revenues.

StarAfrica will support this recruitment service throughout the year, in particular by providing additional online visibility.