At Orange, we are working to make technological innovation a vector for sustainable human and economic development. To achieve this, we are constantly creating new services that simplify everyone’s daily life. And we do this in close collaboration with innovation players for greater creativity, efficiency and economic impact.
Our programs
Are you a start-up needing a helping hand to get your business off the ground or a more mature business looking to grow? Whatever your stage of development, discover the support systems offered by Orange and find the one that meets your needs.
From fundraising to lack of technical expertise and problems finding new customers… the challenges are immense when starting a business. To support you at each stage of your development and meet your needs, Orange provides information, expert advice and mentoring sessions, helps you expand your network, gives you access to markets and can even invest in your business.
Join one of our Orange Digital Centers
Orange is continuing to open its network of Orange Digital Centers (ODC) at high speed. Free and open to all, these facilities are designed to be a hub for interaction, experimentation and training for all players in the digital ecosystem. They include:
– A Code School, a centre for vocational training and events.
– A Solidarity FabLab, for prototyping and 3D printing.
– An Orange Fab, an accelerator for promising start-ups.
– Orange Ventures, the Group’s investment fund.
Why not apply for funding and support through the Orange Social Venture Prize? Over the past 10 years, this annual prize has become a reference. Every year, it offers financial rewards and greater visibility in the region as well as partnership opportunities.
You can also benefit from early-stage funding through, Orange Ventures the Group’s €350 million investment fund. And with the MEA Seed challenge, you can receive a sum of up to €200,000.
Here are some of our other opportunities for start-ups thanks to our various partnerships in Africa and the Middle East :
– Africa
– Mali
– Guinea
– Senegal
Join one of our dedicated programmes for businesswomen in France
- Women Start, is a specific acceleration program dedicated to women founders or co-founders of start-ups all over the world to help them develop their business and markets. The primary objective is to sign a commercial partnership between the start-up and an Orange business unit.
- Find out more about our "Femmes Entrepreneuses" program which supports 100 women designers selected from across the country. It offers high-potential visibility, personalized mentoring and workshops, networking help, financing and more!
Have you already identified your market fit, or do you have a product or service that has already launched or is ready for launch?
Now is the time to grow. Here’s how to take it to the next level, and fast:
– By building business partnerships. The Orange Fabs network is the first corporate accelerator network in the world. It helps start-ups accelerate their business and access new international opportunities. They also benefit from a global network of 17 Orange Fabs located on 4 continents, where they’ll find business support and mentoring resources, and help with negotiating commercial partnerships with the Group’s business units and partners (nationally and internationally).
– By taking advantage of Orange’s technical resources. Orange Developer offers access to some of our Group’s technical resources in areas as varied as SMS, VoIP, multi-connectivity IoT, identity and authentication services, and much more. A wide selection of APIs, SDKs and developer kits can be accessed in a few clicks for fast integration into your apps and services.
– By taking advantage of Orange 5G Lab. A national and international network designed to discover, test and invent the new uses enabled by 5G. It is a free, tailor-made program aimed at economic players of all sizes wishing to discover the full potential of 5G for their activities or wishing to experiment by testing their products and services in 5G. At their disposal: an experimental 5G network, support from our Orange experts, 5G equipment and terminals.
Orange Digital Investment holds Orange’s €350 million contribution to the internal Orange Ventures fund and has committed an additional amount of over €400 million in funds managed by external management companies. Over the 15 years to 2021, nearly 500 companies have been directly or indirectly financed by Orange.
Orange Ventures is one of the top 10 corporate venture capital funds in Europe, investing in high-potential companies in areas such as connectivity, cybersecurity, innovative financial services and e-health.
With offices in Paris and Dakar, Orange Ventures supports start-ups in all stages of development from early stage seed funding in Africa and the Middle East to more mature organisations in Europe and the United States, with unit investments up to €20 million per funding round.
Our partnerships
For a start-up, the key to success doesn’t just depend on an innovative product or service. Meeting the right people is also important to get your business off the ground. With Orange, you can join an open innovation ecosystem made up of many partners, from incubators and research labs to investment funds and more. Whatever your stage of development, find the right partner to accelerate, finance and promote your start-up.
…an incubator to launch your business:
- CTIC Dakar : the first incubator and accelerator of its type in West Africa, supporting ICT and mobile tech entrepreneurs and offering a program dedicated to start-up incubation.
…early stage funding:
- Innovacom : this capital-innovation and seed capital fund is dedicated to entrepreneurs working in new technologies, as well as software and hardware products. Innovacom focuses on creating financial and strategic value through support, networking and industrial partnerships.
- Robolution Capital : the first private equity fund in the world dedicated to robotics, Robolution Capital invests in personal and professional robotics start-ups in the seed and development phase.
…expert and / or technical support:
- L’IRT SystemX : located in Paris, the Institute for Technological Research (IRT) SystemX is a multidisciplinary support structure for future systems engineering. Through its START@SystemX program, it offers business support and collaboration opportunities with R&D experts to accelerate products and services in the fields of mobility, blockchain and cybersecurity.
- b-com : located across four campuses (Brest, Lanion, Paris and Rennes), the IRT’s private b-com structure specializes in 5G, image and sound processing, AI, cybersecurity, cognitive science and mixed reality.
...an incubator :
- CTIC Dakar : the first incubator and accelerator of its type in West Africa, supporting ICT and mobile tech entrepreneurs and offering a program dedicated to start-up acceleration, incubation and post-incubation.
...funding :
Iris Capital : with more than 30 years’ experience in the digital economy, the Paris-based fund is dedicated to financing start-ups in fields as varied as deep learning, algorithms, e-commerce, IoT, real time auctions and fraud detection.
…expert and / or technical support:
- L’IRT SystemX: located in Paris, the Institute for Technological Research (IRT) SystemX is a multidisciplinary support structure for future systems engineering. The institute manages R&D programs and makes technological platforms available to partners.
- b-com
- Images et Réseaux: the competitive Images & Networks cluster for digital innovation is based in Brittany and the Loire. It supports everything from large groups to SMEs, mid-cap companies, labs and local authorities in their R&D strategies, in connection with regional, national and European innovation partners.
...ways to boost visibility:
- La French Tech: this brings together the entire French start-up ecosystem so they benefit from greater visibility among decision makers, investors and the media.
- Go ignite: this alliance brings together the combined telecoms resources of Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Singtel and Telefonica to support start-ups specializing in disruptive technologies. This is a compete support structure offering networking, invitations to events, mentoring and meetings with investors.
…financing to expand into new markets:
- Robolution Capital: the first private equity fund in the world dedicated to robotics, Robolution Capital invests in personal and professional robotics start-ups in the seed and development phase.
- Iris Capital
- Teranga Capital : the leading investment company in Senegal and Gambia, Teranga Capital is part of a pioneering high-impact investment network entirely dedicated to financing and supporting start-ups and SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa with funding between 50 and 300 million FCFA.
…ways to boost visibility on the world stage:
- Go ignite
- Data for Climate Action Challenge : Participate in this Orange’s partner initiative and use Big Data to fight climate change.
- CTIC Dakar
- Teranga Capital: The leading investment company in Senegal and Gambia, Teranga Capital is part of a pioneering high-impact investment network entirely dedicated to financing and supporting start-ups and SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa with funding between 50 and 300 million FCFA.
On the same topic:
Supporting the digital ecosystem around the world
We remain open to the digital ecosystem thanks to a wide range of programs designed tu support start-ups. We are convinced that start-ups have a key role to play in innovation. With a network of 20 Orange Fab sites on three continents and in 21 countries, we aim to accelerate and internationalize the start-ups we support.
"Femmes Entrepreneuses"
"Femmes Entrepreneuses" is a start-up network for businesswomen in France. The initiative provides local and personalized support to women who have recently started a business in the tech sector.
OSVP
The Orange Social Venture Prize in Africa and the Middle East (OSVP) has become a reference. Every year, it rewards the best technological projects with a positive impact in Africa and the Middle East. The competition is organized in two stages: first a national competition in 17 countries; then an international jury selects the winners of the Grand Prix.