One of Sierra Leone’s most reliable leading companies, Orange Sierra Leone, has on Friday, 4th August, 2023, blessed two young Sierra Leonean innovators with one hundred and fifty thousand new leones.
In their 5th edition of the Orange Social Venture Prize(OSVP) pitch night, held at the Limkokwing University of Technology and Innovation, Hill Station in Freetown, the company had assembled two categories of innovators – the top five grand prize finalists for the Orange innovation awards and the top three tech queen finalists.
The top five grand finalists were James Samba (Electric Quandricycle), Isha Abdulai Turay (Crescent Salone), Sia Chakanda (Kene Care Virtual Hospital) Andrew Dosumu (Liquid Air Box), Mariama Mbayoh (Kam Rent Ya). The finalists for the tech queen were Jenneh Bockarie Bernet (SierraSisters), Hawanatu Sesay (IOT Plant Monitoring), Iye Mary Brimah Sallu (Pin Up Health Care).
Hawanatu Sesay and James Samba had both emerged victorious in their respective categories- Hawanatu Sesay won NLE 50,000 for the Tech Queen Award whilst James Samba won NLe 100,000 for the OSVP 2023.
Meanwhile, in his welcoming submission, Kamal Abass, a member of the media team at Orange SL, assured that Orange will continue to make history in terms of technology and innovation and will equally continue to make available platforms for startups and young innovators. He disclosed Friday’s was the 5th in Sierra Leone, and the 13th in the Middle East.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Orange Sierra Leone, Shekou Amadou Bah, said the OSVP incepted in 2019 with an objective to helping and identifying young talented innovato
He added that Orange has also helped Africa and the middle East to boost digital transformation.
Bah furthered that Orange Sierra Leone aimed at supporting young women in the digital ecosystem.
Sierra Leone’s newly appointed minister of technical and higher education, Dr. Haja Ramatulai Wurie commended Orange for their initiative in picking out talented innovators in Sierra Leone and supporting them.
She pointed out that the establishment of the OSVP will help create impact in the area of Education, Health, Agriculture, E-Commerce and help in the improvement of women’s living conditions and sustainable development in Africa and the Middle East.
“In the dynamics of landscape in progress, technology stands for transformational change. However, the Orange Social Venture Prizes (OSVP) are here to celebrate the project. Innovation holds the key to improving the living conditions of women and empowering them as agents of sustainable development. Education has a role to play on this nurturing mind to also unlock potential in the realm of education. Innovation technology has emerged as empowering growth knowledge and opportunities by holding innovation, E-learning platform which could help to empower young Learners.”
The minister of communications, technology and innovation, Haja Salimatu Bah, also commended the OSVP and asserted it will help to improve the lives of young learners in Sierra Leone.
The ceremony was well-attended by the media, ministers and deputies, entertainers, international dignitaries etc.
