Leading mobile telecom company, Orange Sierra Leone has on Wednesday, April 6, 2022 launched its fourth edition of its annual Orange Social Venture Prize (OSVP) at its Hill Station headquarters in Freetown.
The competition is geared towards capacitating young entrepreneurs in setting their businesses.
The best innovative ideas will bag home cash prize of Le150 Million.
Head of Public Relations, Annie Wonie Katta, Isaid that as a mobile telecom operator, Orange is positioned to be the lead digital partner for startups in Africa and the Middle East, and that was why Orange Middle East and Africa (OMEA) initiated the OSVP 12 years ago.
She said the idea was to reward the best technological projects with positive impact and solution to social challenges mainly in the fields of education, health, agriculture, mobile payments or sustainable development in Africa and the Middle East.
The competition is organized annually in all 17 Orange affiliates in the Middle East and Africa.
The three winners from each of the 17 countries have an opportunity to compete in a grand international contest, in which one out of the 51 contestants emerges as the winner of 25,000 Euros.
“2019 winner Aminata Kandeh and the 2020 winner, Bayoh Turay won Le10 million and Le20 million, respectively, to support the growth of their businesses. Aminata is a proud owner of a thriving Agro-Fish farm in Bo while Bayoh Turay is now gainfully employed by Orange as a trainer in our Orange Digital Centre where he is providing his expertise in coding and mentorship to young aspiring innovators,” she said.
Haja Isata Bah of ‘Uman for Uman won the 2021 OSVP with a prize of Le100 million to improve her business that is positioned to support women and girls by ensuring the availability and affordability of recycled menstrual hygiene pads.
By Desmond Tunde Coker