African and Middle Eastern entrepreneurs with innovative projects are being celebrated for solutions that blend social impact with digital transformation. By showcasing these startups, the Orange Social Entrepreneur Prize highlights ingenuity aimed at addressing regional challenges.

The top international winners of the Orange Social Venture Prize in Africa and the Middle East (OSVP/POESAM) have been announced. Moroccan startup SAVEY, Tunisia’s WeFix, and Côte d'Ivoire's Cocoa Shield were officially presented to the public on Tuesday, November 12, during an international ceremony held in Casablanca, Morocco.

According to an Orange press release, these winners were selected from a pool of 1,600 applicants from 17 countries. The awarded projects in this 14th edition of OSVP cover diverse fields, including education, health, e-commerce, agriculture, and environmental protection.

The Grand Prize was awarded to Moroccan startup SAVEY, which offers a digital and logistical solution to reduce food waste by selling unsold or near-expiry food items. This solution earned them €25,000 in funding.

The second prize went to Tunisian startup WeFix, which provides a digital solution to support individuals and companies in the sustainable management of electronic and household appliances. This start-up received €15,000 in funding.

In third place was Ivorian startup Cocoa Shield, which uses AI and IoT to monitor and track cocoa crops, helping to combat crop diseases. This start-up was awarded €10,000.

The International Women’s Prize, celebrating a female-led startup with significant impact, was awarded to MyTindy (Morocco), an online platform connecting artisans with international customers to facilitate direct and independent sales. This platform received €20,000 in funding.

Finally, the "Coup de Cœur" prize went to Intella, an Egyptian start-up developing a multi-dialect Arabic speech-to-text transcription engine, one of the most accurate in the world, aimed at bridging the gap between AI advancements and the Arab-speaking world.

In addition to these awards, the national winners of POESAM 2024 from Orange’s 17 markets in the Middle East and Africa will receive support from Orange Digital Centers. This support will help them expand their businesses beyond national borders through a network active in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe.

Samira Njoya