The winners for our 14th Orange Social Venture Prize in Africa and the Middle East were revealed on 12 November 2024. Since 2011, the award has been recognizing start-ups using new technologies to meet the needs of local communities in various fields such as education, health, agriculture, mobile payment, and the environment. Let's take a look at this year’s winners.
A competition full of variety and promise
As in previous years, the applications received for the 14th competition show the richness and diversity of positive impact projects in Africa and the Middle East. Out of more than 1,600 applications from the national competitions, 70 projects were selected to compete at the international level. 15 start-ups were selected for the final selection by the OSVP Grand Jury. These innovative start-ups are implementing high-tech solutions in fields as varied as energy, health, agriculture, education, environment, AI, e-commerce, and social inclusion.
The winners of OSVP 2024
International Grand Prix
Reward: €25,000
SAVEY (Morocco) – SAVEY fights against food waste via a logistics solution that connects manufacturers with catering professionals. It allows the real-time sale of produce that is unsold, over-ordered, or close to its expiry date through a geo-tracking and adapted delivery service. This helps to reduce waste while supporting restaurants, cafes, and other traders in the F&B sector..
Reward: €15,000
WeFix (Tunisia) – promotes the repair, collection, and recycling of out-of-service household appliances in Tunisia, contributing to a circular economy. The platform also offers refurbished white goods, reducing the environmental impact of e-waste. The project relies on a network of technicians and partners to optimize repairs and offer a sustainable alternative to buying new appliances.
Reward: €10,000
Cocoa Shield (Ivory Coast) – Cocoa Shield uses AI and IoT to detect and limit the spread of Swollen Shoot, a disease affecting cocoa trees. The AI technology embedded within drones or mobile equipment visually scans for the disease and smart stations monitor the plantations in real time. The aim is to treat the affected trees in a targeted manner leading to full eradication of the disease in the long term.
International Women's Prize
Reward: €20,000
MyTindy (Morocco) – MyTindy enables artisans to sell their products via an online platform directly to international consumers. It offers training, marketing and logistics services, as well as support via AI. With more than 2,000 artisans in 40 countries, MyTindy collaborates with partners such as the Ministry of Handicrafts and Royal Air Maroc, strengthening its global impact.
Jury’s Choice Award
Reward: €10,000
Intella (Egypt) – Intella develops more inclusive AI models adapted to more than 25 Arabic dialects, often ignored by current models. It recently launched a speech recognition model with 95.7% accuracy, followed by speech analysis models. As a deep tech company, Intella is focused on integrating global advances in AI into the Arabic-speaking world, turning conversations into valuable sources of information.
An exciting new awards ceremony
For the first time in the history of the compeition, the awards ceremony took place in Casablanca, Morocco and were live on social networks.
The five winners were announced by the OSVP Grand Jury, chaired by Cheikh Tidiane MBAYE, Managing Director and former CEO of SONATEL along with 11 other members.
The ceremony was attended by Christel Heydemann, Jérôme Hénique, Caroline Guillaumin, and Hendrik Kasteel. Also present will be many Moroccan and international dignitaries, company directors, and active players within the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Our finalists
Ivory Coast
Egypt
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Sierra Leone
Tunisia
For information, the list of finalists is ordered alphabetically by country and does not reflect any ranking.