Orange Ventures has launched the MEA Seed Challenge targeting startups in Africa and the Middle East.
The challenge is looking for startups with high growth potential and predominantly new technologies driven.
Orange Ventures plans to invest a total of €500,000 in the MEA startup ecosystem as a result of this challenge, with up to seven seed stage startups benefitting from an investment of between €50,000 and €150,000.
The Challenge is open to startups in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia. These startups can submit their applications from 1 June until 19 July, 2020. The applications can be done here.
The beneficiaries will be announced next September. The top beneficiary will receive an investment of €150,000 as well as three months of support from challenge partner, Seedstars.
“As a major player in supporting the digital ecosystem in our territories, it is important for Orange to provide a financing solution in addition to our training and support activities for entrepreneurs in Africa and the Middle East,” says Alioune Ndiaye, CEO of Orange Africa and the Middle East.
“With the Orange Ventures team we are proud to launch this first initiative which aims to identify, help and promote exceptional entrepreneurs, who have the courage and drive to launch new projects and who, like us, believe in the potential of this continent. This is the first step before strengthening our investment activities in Middle East and Africa, aiming to support the future digital champions throughout their different maturity and growth stages,” adds Jérôme Berger, CEO of Orange Ventures.
Orange Ventures is a benchmark venture capital investor in Africa, present on the continent since 2017. With 50 million euros under management, Orange Ventures MEA has invested in five start-ups, mainly in Series A and B, in Kenya, South Africa, Nigeria and Ethiopia.
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