Orange and the German Development Cooperation inaugurated the 14th “Orange Digital Center (ODC)” in Sierra Leone, a digital ecosystem entirely dedicated to the development of digital skills and innovation. The inauguration was attended by government and regulatory authorities in Sierra Leone, the German Ambassador, members of the board of Orange Sierra Leone and Orange Foundation, representatives of Sonatel and Orange Middle East and Africa, and the executive committee members of Orange Sierra Leone, as well as the GIZ Country Director for Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.
Sierra Leone follows in the footsteps of Tunisia, Senegal, Ethiopia, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Egypt, Jordan, Madagascar, Morocco, Liberia, Botswana and Guinea with this, the 14th Orange Digital Center inaugurated in Africa and the Middle East.
With over 500 square meters of floor space, the ODC will provide four strategic programs of the Orange Group in partnership with the German Development Cooperation, namely:
- A coding school
- A solidarity FabLab - one of the Orange Foundation's digital manufacturing workshops
- An Orange Fab startup accelerator
- The Orange Ventures Middle East and Africa (the Orange Group investment fund of that invests in the most talented startups of Orange Digital Center)
All programs of the ODC are provided free of charge and open to everyone. The programs include a variety of digital training for young people, guidance to address project bearers and startup acceleration; 90% of all the trainings are practical.
Working as a network, the Orange Digital Centers allow experiences and expertise to be shared between countries and offer a simple and inclusive approach to improve young people's employability, encourage innovative entrepreneurship and promote the local digital ecosystem.
Officially inaugurated, the Orange Digital Center in Sierra Leone is fully operational and equipped to host several digital trainings and events. In addition, Orange Sierra Leone, in partnership with universities, will train students for free and roll out Orange Digital Center Clubs, extensions of the Orange Digital Center within some universities in the region. Thus, it will complement the education system by giving as many people as possible access to new technologies and supporting them in using these technologies to their fullest extent.
Orange and the German Development Cooperation are working together as part of a development partnership within the develoPPP program, which the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is implementing on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The goal is to fulfill their shared vision by fostering youth employability while supporting sustainable growth and the country's digital transformation. The program is also working to advance gender equality and inclusion by promoting increased access to ICT jobs for women and girls.
This initiative is fully in line with our commitment as a responsible operator and focuses on the following sustainable development goals: (SDG 4) quality education; (SDG 5) gender equality; (SDG 8) decent work and economic growth; (SDG 9) industry, innovation and infrastructure; (SDG 10) reduced inequalities; and (SDG 17) partnerships for goals.
