POESAM was first launched in 2011. It has given roughly €555,000 to African business ventures with beneficial social and environmental consequences in diverse areas, including health, education, e-commerce, and farming, over the course of 11 previous editions. The competition is categorized into two: A national stage to gather applications, between March and late May at Orange’s 17 subsidiaries. When this stage is complete, a jury with representatives from Orange’s start-up ecosystem will meet in each subsidiary to choose 3 national winners (per subsidiary) who will qualify for the international stage; An international stage, where the projects of the 3 winners from each subsidiary will be reviewed by an evaluation committee made up of group employees. They will select 10 finalists following their evaluation. A final jury of African tech influencers will choose the 3 winners of the POESAM International Grand Prize in October. They will receive:
€25,000 for 1st place€15,000 for 2nd place€10,000 for 3rd place
As equal opportunities are a crucial aspect of Orange policy, the International Women’s Prize will be awarded for the 3rd year running. Supported by Orange Group Diversity and Inclusion, this €20,000 prize will either go to a project managed by a woman, or to a project offering a technological solution to improve the living conditions of women (women’s independence, creating or maintaining jobs, data collection on gender, digital and financial inclusion, etc.).
