Driving Innovation from within: Orange’s Summer API Challenge
Published: July 11, 2025
At Orange, innovation is at the heart of our mission to transform digital networks and services. One of the exciting ways we foster creativity and forward-thinking was through our internal Summer API Challenge—an ideathon designed to unlock the full potential of our Network APIs and data assets.
APIs: The Fuel of Digital Transformation
APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are much more than technical tools; they are the universal language that enables applications to communicate, share data, and deliver enriched experiences. For Orange, APIs represent a strategic lever to open new business models and accelerate innovation for our teams and partners.
The Summer API Challenge: Sparking Creativity and Impact
This internal challenge invited Orange’s product marketing teams, architects, and developers to propose innovative and monetizable API ideas that address real business needs. By tapping into our rich portfolio of data—such as location, quality of service, and authentication—and combining existing APIs in new ways, participants aimed to create high-impact solutions with international ambition.
The challenge encouraged clear, concise, and ambitious ideas that demonstrate measurable business value while respecting confidentiality, security, and interoperability standards. It was a unique opportunity to contribute to Orange’s vision of becoming a leader in the API ecosystem.
In the end
A collective energy, with the mobilization of employees from several Orange entities in 6 countries – France, Poland, Morocco, Tunisia, Cameroon, Egypt – has allowed to highlight 37 ideas. 4 finalists were selected by the Orange LiveNet teams during a final pitch session.
🎉 Winning pitch of the Summer API Challenge. This secure solution enables microfinance institutions to assess the creditworthiness of borrowers in the informal sector. By utilizing transaction data, this API generates an instant, reliable credit score based on history, cash flow, payment regularity, and includes a loan recommendation, with user consent.
🫶 Second selection of the Summer API Challenge. This API provides anonymized analyses of the domestic IoT ecosystem and connected device usage in homes. It relies on data collected from home devices and applications to produce useful insights, while strictly respecting privacy and data protection regulations.
🫶 Fourth selection of the Summer API Challenge. This API leverages aggregated and anonymized data to provide statistics on mobile usage, such as traffic volumes, speeds, trends by application or protocol, and usage behaviors, while ensuring data confidentiality.
Building the Future of Programmable Networks
Through initiatives like the Summer API Challenge, Orange LiveNet Business Unit is accelerating the product development for APIs and of new business models based on openness, standardization, and collaboration. On Orange Developer we provide the tools and resources needed to experiment and innovate safely, supporting the creation of value-generating APIs.
