An app that puts mobile technology in the hands of horticulturists, farmers and cooperatives in Nigeria has won a social venture contest set up by Orange. 

The app, which is designed to let African farmers set up remote crop irrigation, improving productivity and preserving water resources, scooped first place in the Orange African Social Venture Prize. This scheme was set up to support entrepreneurs and start-ups who use information and communication technologies (ICT) to meet the needs of African people.

More than 600 candidates responded to the call for projects, which ran from June to September 2011, says Orange. Proposed projects spanned a variety of fields, including health, agriculture, education, financial services, and eCommerce.

AgaSha Business Network, a Ugandan start-up that uses the internet to help small and medium African companies grow, won second prize, while third place went to Kachile, an eCommerce platform start-up from Côte dIvoire.

The winners were chosen by a panel of Orange specialists, as well as media figures and growth-development institutions. Ten projects were nominated and presented on the Orange African portal, www.StarAfrica.com 

In addition to funding of up to €25,000, Orange will provide support to the three projects for six months from its local subsidiaries and the strategic expertise of its venture capital subsidiary, Innovacom.