Orange unearths Africa�s innovative spirit
Staff Writer | Monday June 22, 2015 16:02
According to http://searchcio.techtarget.com ICT (information and communications technology - or technologies) is an umbrella term that includes any communication device or application, encompassing: radio, television, cellular phones, computer and network hardware and software, satellite systems and so on, as well as the various services and applications associated with them, such as videoconferencing and distance learning. ICTs are often spoken of in a particular context, such as ICTs in education, health care, or libraries.
According to the European Commission, the importance of ICTs lies less in the technology itself than in its ability to create greater access to information and communication in underserved populations.And over the past couple of years, Orange has been a game changer in encouraging and supporting young Batswana in this area by sharing its experience and know-how by offering access to its networks and platforms, and by facilitating the creation of new services by making available its Application Programming Interface (API) catalogue. In addition, the Group has created special mechanisms for acceleration or incubation such as the Orange Fab programme in Côte d’Ivoire, as well as supporting structures for financing and management. Since 2009, Orange has partnered with Botswana U-Penn in numerous ICT projects ranging from m-health to m-learning, and in 2011 the organisation launched the Orange African Social Venture Prize, of which in the 2014 edition of the competition one of our own, Thuto Gaotingwe was one of the winners and got to benefit from this venture.
Thuto was awarded 25 000 euros for his Modisar project. Modisar is a livestock farm management application that makes it easy for a farmer to manage his/her farm. The goal of Modisar as a Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) software is to assist livestock producers by allowing them to keep accurate records & automated, continuous monitoring of their farm animals.
This year’s call for applications for the 5th edition of the Orange African Social Venture Prize was launched at the beginning of June and will remain open until 18 September 2015. The prize will recognise three projects with grants of 10,000, 15,000 and 25,000 euros, along with six months of support from Orange experts and is open to any entrepreneur (aged 21 or over) or legal entity that has been in existence for fewer than three years at no cost and with no restriction on nationality.
Submitted projects must be designed to be deployed in at least one of the 17 African countries in which Orange operates and must use information and communications technology in an innovative way to help improve the living conditions of the populations in these countries. Applications are accepted until 18 September 2015 on Orange’s pan-African web portal, www.starafrica.com.