Three Startups Win Orange’s African Social Venture Prize 2012

Orange has announced the winners of its African Social Venture Prize, which supports entrepreneurs and start-ups that use information and communication technologies (ICT) to meet the needs of African people.

According to the telecoms company, more than 450 candidates applied between May and September 2012, with proposed projects in different fields such as healthcare, agriculture, education, energy, industry and commerce.

Now, Orange has announced the three winners from 13 nominated projects during the AfricaCom Awards ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa.

Orange says it would provide support to the three start-ups for six months from its local subsidiaries as well as expert advice from business and telecoms professionals.

The first prize (25,000 euros) went 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. Using an SMS-based system, the start-up provides traders with real-time information on the latest deals enabling them to order the exact quantity of stocks required.

Takachar, which won the second prize of 15,000 euros is a Kenya-based project that proffers an innovative system to improve waste management by using mobile technologies to track waste collection in real-time.

The third prize (10,000 euros) was awarded to Senegal-based e-commerce service, Niokobok which 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.