This Monday, 9th March 2020, will mark the start of registration for the 10th edition of the Orange Prize for Social Entrepreneurship in Africa and the Middle East. Until June 5, 2020, candidates will have the opportunity to submit their project on the website https://startup.orange.com/ in the section dedicated to OPSEAM.
Awarded by Orange (www.Orange.com), this prize rewards technological projects with positive impact enabling the improvement of the living conditions of populations in Africa and the Middle East, in essential fields such as education, health, agriculture, mobile payment and sustainable development.

Here Is All You Need To Know

• The competition begins with a national phase during which each of the 17 participating Orange subsidiaries will study the projects submitted in their country and then choose a maximum of three winners. 
• A second international phase will follow, during which the winners from each country, up to 54 winners in total, will be put in competition by an international jury which will award the OPSEAM grand prize to the winners at AfricaCom, the largest trade fair for the technology in Africa, which takes place in November in Cape Town, South Africa.
• In addition, the 10 international finalists will have the opportunity to have personalized support from professionals in the creation and financing of young companies.

• OPSEAM is aimed at students, employees or entrepreneurs over the age of 21 and startups under the age of three, and concerns the following countries: Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, ” Egypt, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Conakry, Jordan, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Tunisia.

Read Also: South African Company Ayo Launches A $13 million Annual Fund For Investment In African Startups

What Startups And Entrepreneurs Stand To Benefit

• 10 years of support for technology startups with positive impact! 
• Two additional prizes to celebrate the 10th anniversary of OPSEAM.
• Like our three winners of the 2019 edition: Every Souffle Counts (Cameroon), JPalm Liberia (Liberia) and Flit Ride (Madagascar); the three international winners will receive national prizes and respectively €25,000, € 15,000 and € 10,000.
• New this year, a female prize worth € 20,000 is added to the 3 international prizes to further encourage Female Entrepreneurship on the continent. 
• This price will reward either a woman or a project proposing a technological solution to improve the living conditions of women (empowerment of women, creation or preservation of jobs, collection of data on gender, digital inclusion and financial inclusion…).
• In addition, a special prize of € 10,000 will also be awarded by the international jury. 
• In line with the Group’s strategy, the ambition of which is to make digital an opportunity for everyone, the special prize will reward a project that improves the daily lives of so-called “vulnerable” people (people with disabilities, exclusion , social and economic insecurity…).
• 1,333 applications were received in 2019, 10 of which received personalized support from Orange and its partner, the Bond’Innov start-up incubator.
• Since 2011, the Social Entrepreneur prize in Africa and the Middle East has been part of a logic of detecting and supporting young shoots.

About Orange

Orange is present in 18 countries in Africa and the Middle East and has 122 million customers as of December 31, 2019. With 5.6 billion euros in revenue in 2019 and annual growth of 6%, Orange MEA is the Group’s first growth area. Orange Money, its money transfer and financial services offer on mobile available in 17 countries has 45 million customers. Orange, a multi-service operator, a benchmark partner in digital transformation brings its know-how to support the development of new digital services in Africa and the Middle East.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer.
He could be contacted at udohrapulu@gmail.com