Five African startups have been announced as cash prize winners in the Orange Social Venture Prize (OSVP) in Africa and the Middle East, launched in 2011 to recognize the best tech startup projects that make a positive impact on society or the environment in their region or align with sustainable development goals.
The International Grand Prix’s top prize was $25,000, which was won by the Sierra Leonean digital health platform LifeBlood, which was created to address the severe lack of blood supplies in the nation’s healthcare system.
Mali’s Biomass4GLC, a startup that produces and distributes biogas appropriate for cooking in Mali by renting out linked devices, took second place, earning a cash reward of $15,000. The third-place winner with $10,000 was the Tunisian startup Kamioun, an e-commerce platform that provides goods to the nation’s small convenience stores.
Abana, a website where clothing designers can sell their wares to customers, was the winner of the $10,000 Judges’ Choice prize. The $20,000 International Women’s Prize was won by the Jordanian firm iRole!
The competition received around 1,400 applications from the 17 participating nations, and the winners were revealed at Mobile World Congress Africa in Kigali, Rwanda.
