These tech startups are making a positive impact on society in Africa and the Middle East

Five African startups have been announced as cash prize winners in the Orange Social Venture Prize (OSVP) in Africa and the Middle East, launched in 2011 to recognize the best tech startup projects that make a positive impact on society or the environment in their region or align with sustainable development goals.

• Sierra Leonean digital health platform LifeBlood, which was designed to solve the acute shortage of blood products in the country’s healthcare system took first place winning $25,000 in the International Grand Prix.
• The second place position with cash prize of $15,000 went to Mali's Biomass4GLC, a startup that produces and distributes biogas suitable for cooking in Mali by renting out connected systems. While Tunisian startup Kamioun, an e-commerce platform that supplies goods to local convenience stores in the country took third place with $10,000.
• The winner of the $10,000 Judges’ Choice prize was the DRC-based Abana, a marketplace through which clothes designers can sell their creations to shoppers, while Jordanian company iRole! won the $20,000 International Women’s Prize.

Nearly 1,400 applications were submitted from across the 17 countries involved in the competition and these winners were announced at Mobile World Congress Africa in Kigali, Rwanda.