Orange launches two new Orange Digital Centers in Africa to drive Digital Inclusion

Orange has launched two Orange Digital Centers in Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon to make digital technology accessible to young people and women.

The Orange Digital Center is a unique concept, bringing together four of its programs in the same location to encourage the development of a real digital ecosystem in Africa. This program includes a coding school; a Solidarity FabLab digital manufacturing workshop supported by the Orange Foundation; a start-up accelerator, Orange Fab; and Orange Ventures Africa, the Orange Group’s investment fund.

All of these programs are free and open to everyone. They range from training young people in digital technology (90% of the training courses are hands-on training), to supporting project leaders, including the acceleration of start-ups and investment in them.

Orange in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) also offers a free 12-week, full-time certified training program on cloud computing for people looking for a job to launch their career in cloud technologies in 18 countries via Orange Digital Centers in Africa and the Middle East.

Currently, there are eight Orange Digital Centers in the zone: Tunisia, Senegal, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Jordan, Morocco, and Mali. More centers will be opened in other countries by the end of 2021 and during 2022.

Stéphane Richard, Chairman, and CEO of the Orange Group said “Orange is a socially responsible company everywhere. Commitment is a core company value, which we have made a central aspect of our Engage 2025 strategic plan. To promote digital technology which drives inclusion and is accessible to as many people as possible, we aim to deploy an Orange Digital Center in every country where we operate by 2025. This objective reflects our determination to take action to make digital technology a positive innovation.”  

Alioune Ndiaye, CEO of Orange Africa and the Middle East, continues: “I am very proud to inaugurate the sixth Orange Digital Center in Africa today in Cameroon, which is part of the network of 32 Orange Digital Centers deployed in all the countries where we operate in Africa and the Middle East, as well as in Europe. The main objective is to democratize access to digital technology for young people – with or without qualifications – giving them access to the latest technological trends to improve their employability and prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow.”