By Foday Moriba Conteh
In a bid to provide a platform for young innovators and creative thinkers in the country, one of the leading GSM mobile operators in the country, Orange Sierra Leone, has on Wednesday 8th September, 2021 awarded Haja Isatu Bah of “Uman4Uman” winner of this year’s Orange-SL Social Venture Prize Innovators competition and Adama Kadijah Thoronka of Eco Mobile Clinic who was also awarded winner of International Women’s Award 2021. The event was held at their Headquarters on Hill Station in Freetown.
After thorough scrutiny by the judges, Haja Isatu Bah the young innovator of “Uman4Uman” and Adama Kadijah Thoronka of Eco Mobile Clinic emerged winners of the competition. Haja Isatu Bah was therefore awarded the grand prize of Le100 million, a certificate and fly box plus six months internet subscription and Adama Kadijah Thoronka of Eco Mobile Clinic was awarded Le50 Million, a certificate and fly box with six months internet subscription.
Speaking during the ceremony, the Director of Orange Foundation, Jestina Betts, said that Orange as a company is happy to host the remarkable event as they showcase for the third time their top qualifiers for this year’s Orange Social Venture Prize (OSVP) pitch session.
She added that Orange, being a multi service provider and a responsible corporate citizen places emphasis on corporate social investment revealing how they believe in the philosophy of philanthropy which is why the brand continues to impact directly, the lives of people, by giving back and touching lives.
Jestina Betts disclosed that OSVP Sierra Leone is part of Orange’s Innovation Strategy and its Corporate Social Responsibility Policy, organized in partnership with Innovation SL- Freetown Pitch Night, stating that the competition is open to both Male and Female, aged 21 years and above, whose business ideas propose technological solutions with positive impact in essential fields such as education, healthcare, agriculture to name a few.
The Director maintained that since its inception in Sierra Leone in 2019, the Orange Social Venture Prize has become a household name and a reference partner in ICT development and start-ups.
She said that Aminata C.M Kandeh ,CEO of Agro Fish Farming, was the first winner of this project in 2019 seconded by Bayoh Turay of “Salone Agric Markit” who emerged as the second winner in 2020 of which she pointed out that with technical and financial support to the two previous winners, these two young entrepreneurs have been able to expand their businesses as well as provide job opportunities for other unemployed Sierra Leoneans.
However, Jestina Betts said that in this year’s event they will be seeing top 5 finalists to pitch their innovative business ideas for the general category with a grand prize of 100M, furthering that additionally, for the first time in Sierra Leone, there will be a reward
for women, “The International Women’s Award 2021” which she said is a project that seeks to offer technological solutions that will improve the living conditions of women in terms of independence, creating and maintaining jobs, data collection on gender, digital or financial inclusion, for which their top 3 qualifiers will battle for a grand prize of 50Million.
“As a mobile telecoms company, Orange is positioned to be the leader in digital transformation and a trusted partner in bridging the digital divide in Africa and the Middle-East,” she concluded.
On his part, the Minister of Higher and Technical Education, Prof Alpha Tejan Wurie, applauded Orange Sierra Leone for the initiative in promoting young innovators describing such as very important towards the development of the country.
He said he was very impressed by the presentation of participants who pitched their business ideas.
The Minister congratulated the winners of the competition and also encouraged all to continue to develop very innovative ideas in order to solve societal problems in the country which will contribute to the development of the nation.
Haja Isatu Bah of “Uman4Uman” who emerged as winner expressed appreciation to Orange Sierra Leone for such a laudable venture that aims at promoting young people not only in Sierra Leone but Africa as a whole. She said the event was not a surprise to many as Orange Sierra Leone is always at the forefront in providing tangible development programs aimed at empowering young people in Sierra Leone.
She added that with this type of event in the country it will help young innovators with very innovative ideas to solve societal problems in the country which will contribute to the development of the nation. He called on young innovators to invest in themselves and be passionate about what they are doing.
Adama Kadijah Thoronka of Eco Mobile Clinic who was also awarded winner of International Women’s Award 2021also applauded Orange Sierra Leone for what she described as an intervention that will help them to improve of their Eco Mobile Clinic and in return will impact more lives in the communities they operate.
