A message to intending young innovators for the 2026 Orange Social Venture Prize-Sierra Leone: Meet the 2025 OSVP National Winner
Freetown 13th May 2026
At every stage of the innovation journey, there comes a moment when belief is as important as technical skill.
Belief that an idea is worth building.
Belief that your perspective matters.
Belief that even with limited resources, uncertainty, or an unfinished solution you should take the next step.
For me, that moment came with the Orange Social Venture Prize (OSVP) 2025.
My name is Edward Kamara I am the Winner for 2025 Orange Social Venture Prize (OSVP) and founder of MiBuks, a digital business management platform supporting small businesses across Sierra Leone. Before OSVP, MiBuks was a young idea strong in purpose and ambition, but still searching for the right environment to grow, mature, and scale responsibly. OSVP became that environment.
Doubt, Readiness, and the Power of Possibility
Like many young innovators, I almost did not apply.
I asked myself questions that are familiar to many entrepreneurs: Is my solution ready? Is the impact strong enough? Do I belong in a national competition?
What OSVP taught me is a simple but important lesson: the programme is not about perfection; it is about potential.
OSVP exists to support ideas that are still evolving ideas that respond to real challenges and can create meaningful impact when given the right guidance. The programme encourages innovators to think more clearly, refine their vision, and build with intention, while benefiting from mentorship and support that accelerate both personal and professional development.
Through OSVP, I gained far more than recognition. I gained confidence, clarity, mentorship, and the courage to take MiBuks further than I initially imagined.
Building Solutions for Real People, Everywhere
MiBuks was developed by Millennial Sierra Leone to help micro, small, and medium‑sized enterprises manage their finances using accessible, practical digital tools. The platform enables businesses to record sales, expenses, inventory, and operational performance even in environments with limited internet connectivity.
For many small businesses, the absence of reliable financial records is a barrier to growth. By transforming everyday transactions into trusted data, MiBuks helps entrepreneurs make informed decisions and build the credibility needed to access financial services.
Winning OSVP 2025 marked a key turning point. It prompted us to ask essential questions: Are we reaching the people we aim to serve? Does our solution work beyond urban centres? Are we delivering value that supports daily business realities?
These reflections led us from ambition to implementation.
MiBuks was launched on both the Google Play Store and Apple App Store, followed by continuous improvements based on direct user feedback. Today, the platform supports 2,379 users across all 16 districts of Sierra Leone, including hard‑to‑reach areas such as Falaba District.
This reach reinforces a principle that guides our work: meaningful innovation must be inclusive and accessible, wherever people live and work.
From Support to Sustainable Growth
The financial and mentorship support provided through OSVP enabled MiBuks to grow in a responsible and sustainable way.
With the prize funding, we strengthened our technical infrastructure, expanded our development team, and transitioned MiBuks from a minimum viable product to a more stable, scalable solution. We introduced additional language support, including Arabic, and developed a branch management feature to help businesses operating in multiple locations manage their activities more effectively.
Equally important, OSVP gave us the time and space to listen to our users, to our partners, and to our data. We are intentionally operating in a pre‑launch optimisation phase, because small businesses deserve digital tools they can rely on every day, not solutions that only partially meet their needs.
Beyond Technology: Unlocking Opportunity
OSVP also reshaped how we understand impact.
MiBuks is currently finalising a partnership with Kakebo Financial Services to pilot access to credit for users in Kenema District. Through this initiative, businesses will be able to use verified transaction data to support financing applications.
This is where innovation delivers real value not through complexity, but by enabling opportunity. MiBuks is evolving beyond bookkeeping into a pathway for financial inclusion, business visibility, and long‑term growth.
Lessons for the Next OSVP Innovators
OSVP has influenced how I approach leadership and responsibility. It reaffirmed the importance of collaboration and knowledge sharing, which is why I continue to mentor young entrepreneurs and early‑stage founders, particularly those building confidence in their ideas.
My journey reflects what becomes possible when vision is supported by opportunity.
A Call to Young Innovators: OSVP 2026
Applications are now open for the 8th edition of the Orange Social Venture Prize (OSVP) 2026. Entrepreneurs in Sierra Leone are invited to submit their projects from 26 March to 17th May 2026.
- Apply: https://poesam.orange.com/en/
- Learn more: : https://www.orange.com/en/osvp
Prizes
- SLE 200,000 – National Winner (Sierra Leone)
- SLE 120,000 – Tech Queen (Women’s Category)
- €10,000–€25,000 – International Prizes
- €20,000 – International Women’s Prize
If you are working on an idea that addresses a real challenge, do not underestimate its potential. Apply even if you feel uncertain. Progress often begins with the decision to take part.
The Orange Social Venture Prize 2026 could be the moment your idea evolves into impact, and your journey takes a new direction.
OSVP changed my life.
It might just change yours too.