The Orange Social Venture Award is now accepting applications for the 2023 edition from startups in Africa and the Middle East.
The POESAM prize has been given out annually since 2011 to start-ups with ground-breaking ideas in the fields of education, healthcare, e-commerce, and agriculture in Africa and the Middle East, or that otherwise help advance the cause of sustainable development.
Almost 30 winners have received prize money totaling about €600,000 since the 2011 debut of POESAM, and Orange is happy to have offered funding for more than 90 businesses to get assistance from Orange specialists or its partners.
As a responsible business, Orange is giving away this money to boost the economy, promote innovation in the social and environmental sectors, and inspire new business owners in Africa and the Middle East.
Between March and May 2023, each of Orange’s 17 subsidiaries in Africa and the Middle East will host a national stage to collect applications.
Three national champions (per subsidiary) will be chosen at the conclusion of this application process by a jury made up of members of Orange’s startup ecosystem, who will then gather in each subsidiary to choose the competition’s international stage’s second round of finalists.
The three winners of the POESAM International Grand Award will be chosen by a final committee of African tech influencers in October/November 2023. What they will get is
First place wins €25,000, second place gets €15,000, and third place gets €10,000.
Orange’s policy places a high priority on equal chances, hence the International Women’s Award will be given out for the fourth year in a row.
This award will go to a woman who provides a technical solution to enhance the lives of women (e.g., promoting women’s independence, preserving or creating jobs, gathering gender data, promoting digital and financial inclusion, etc.). The prize is worth €20,000.
The deadline for submitting projects on the website for candidates from the 17 nations included in the Orange footprint is May 21, 2023.
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