Orange Silicon Valley
Co-created in 2018 by Orange Silicon Valley and Sonatel (Orange’s local affiliate in Senegal, Mali, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau), the Mentorship Program’s main purpose is to enable better communication, lasting relationships and open up business opportunities between Silicon Valley and the Africa and Middle East region, especially West Africa, by creating a platform to exchange personal and professional experiences. Following the overwhelmingly positive response from all participants involved in Season 1, we decided to launch Season 2, and expand the reach to include additional countries across Africa.
If you have any questions regarding the OSV-Sonatel mentorship program please contact darren.sabo@orange.com
Why Africa? Why Now?
- Africa is a huge market, with a population of 1.7 billion expected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050
- According to the Africa Growth Initiative, African consumer expenditure has grown at a compound annual rate of 3.9% since 2010; totaling $1.4 trillion in 2015, it is expected to reach $2.5 trillion by 2030
- If the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) is properly implemented, a single continental market for goods and services may will be operational as early as 2030; this will open up additional opportunities for international and intra-continental business
Why Orange?
- Orange is a leading mobile operator in 18 countries across Africa and the Middle East, with 125 million customers in the region
- Orange Money is available in 17 countries with 45 million customers
- With an average annual growth rate of 6%, Orange MEA has demonstrated that its economic and financial model is robust, making it the leading region in terms of growth in the Orange Group; starting in 2015, Orange chose to give its subsidiary, Orange MEA, more autonomy in order to grow its business in the region
- Orange’s activities contribute significantly to GDP across its footprint in Africa: 8% in Cameroon, 8.2% in Guinea, 11% in Côte d’Ivoire and 11.2% in Senegal
- Orange invests 1 billion euros in Africa and the Middle East each year in order to further improve the connectivity and performance of its network
Mentorship Program Season 2 by the Numbers
- 4 countries participating in the program, including: United States, Senegal, Cameroon and Tanzania
- 5 industries, including: public utilities, mobile finance, energy access, waste management, advertising
- Silicon Valley and New York City represented from the United States
- Over $300 million has already been raised by participating startups
Participants
Sponsors & Mentors
- Sekou Drame, CEO, Sonatel Group
- Mireille Helou, CEO, Orange Silicon Valley
- Gregoire de Padirac, Investor, Orange Ventures Africa
- Moustapha Cisse, Head of Ghana AI Lab, Google
- Iynna Halilou, Global Programs Manager, Entrepreneurs Round Table
- Birahim Gueye, Head of Innovation Lab, Sonatel Group
- Laissa Mouen, Founder & CEO, Kinaya Ventures
- Sarah Luger, AI Research Scientist, Orange Silicon Valley
- George Livingston, Principal – Energy & Sustainability, Orange Silicon Valley
- Jay Onda, Principal – Startup Investments, Orange Silicon Valley
- Derek Au, Principal – Startup Investments, Orange Silicon Valley
- Thomas Huitric, Data Scientist, Orange Silicon Valley
Mentorship Program Season 1 by the Numbers
- 93 percent of mentor interactions helped program participants move closer to their mutually established goals
- 100+ hours of interactions between mentees and mentors over the course of the program
- 2 CEO sponsors from the United States and Senegal
- 10 Senegalese & U.S. mentees
- 13 Senegalese & U.S. mentors
Participants
Angaza, Arable, Lifantou, PAPS, Smart Ecosystem for Women
Sponsors & Mentors
- Sekou Drame, CEO, Sonatel Group
- Mireille Helou, CEO, Orange Silicon Valley
- Birahim Gueye, Head of Innovation Lab, Sonatel Group
- Sarah Luger, AI Research Scientist, Orange Silicon Valley
- George Livingston, Principal – Energy & Sustainability, Orange Silicon Valley
- Jay Onda, Principal – Startup Investments, Orange Silicon Valley
- Thomas Huitric, Data Scientist, Orange Silicon Valley
- Alice Brisset, Marketing Specialist, Orange Silicon Valley
- Julie Leclercq, Business Development & Partnerships, Orange Silicon Valley
- Alex Milowski, Research Scientist, Orange Silicon Valley
- Michelle Kra, Orange Silicon Valley
- Maimouna Desbriere, Orange Silicon Valley
Mentorship Program Management Team:
- Darren Sabo, Principal – Emerging Countries, Orange Silicon Valley
- Rokhaya Solange, Head of Digital Ecosystem Development, Sonatel Group
