An Egyptian start-up company, Bassita, has won emerged first in the 2015 Orange African Social Venture Prize in South Africa.
The company was said to have developed the idea of “click funding” that allows businesses to host their social, cultural or environmental projects and receive donations depending on whether the project reaches its objectives in terms of number of clicks or times shared on social networks.
The award which was given during the AfricaCom Awards ceremony in Cape Town last night, also saw a socially-responsible start-up company, upOwa, from Cameroon, clinching the second prize. The company was said to have developed an intelligent solar-powered solution that aims to provide electricity to rural areas of Western and Central Africa that have not yet been connected to the national electricity grids.
The third prize was won by the Malian company myAgro / N’Ga Sene that has developed a mobile application which enables farmers to buy high-quality seeds and fertilizer, and to benefit from a range of training programs. myAgro is set to play a role in improving agricultural productivity in Africa and facilitating working conditions.
Information from the award centre said that a “favourite project” was also selected by web users on the StarAfrica portal, adding that over 22,000 visitors voted for the Moroccan project Kezakoo, which is an e-learning platform that publishes free online educational material (school documents and videos) by allowing members to share their own content with the community
For the fifth year in a row, the Orange Group has recognized and awards prizes to projects that are set to stimulate development in Africa.
The prizes are aimed to encourage entrepreneurs as they launch initiatives using technology to meet the needs of people living in Africa.
It was said that more than 600 candidates responded to the call for projects, which ran from May to September 2015, reflecting the potential of the telecommunications sector to support development in Africa in fields as diverse as healthcare, agriculture, education and energy.
Eleven projects were selected by a panel of judges, consisting of Orange specialists, the media and institutions that promote development. The shortlisted projects were presented on Orange’s pan-African web portal, www.starafrica.com.
The three prize-winners received grants of 10,000, 15,000 and 25,000 euros, along with six months of support from Orange experts.
The first prize will also be offered a patent registration. [myad]