By Foday Moriba Conteh
In a Press Release dated 10th February, 2023 it was disclosed that Orange and the German Development Cooperation have inaugurated the 14th “Orange Digital Center (ODC)”, in Sierra Leone, a digital ecosystem that is entirely dedicated to the development of digital skills and innovation.
Said to be in attendance were Governmental 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 and the GIZ Country Director for Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.
Stated was that it is in Sierra Leone that the 14th Orange Digital Center in Africa and the Middle East has been inaugurated following in the footsteps of Tunisia, Senegal, Ethiopia, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Egypt, Jordan, Madagascar, Morocco, Liberia, Botswana and Guinea.
It was mentioned that having a floor space spreading over 500 sq. m, the ODC will provide four strategic programs of the Orange group and in partnership with the German Development Cooperation, namely: A coding school, a solidarity Fab Lab – one of the Orange Foundation’s digital manufacturing workshops, an Orange Fab start-up accelerator and the Orange Ventures Middle East and Africa (the investment fund of Orange Group that invests in the most talented startups of Orange Digital Center).
Also revealed was that all programs of the ODC are provided free-of charge and open to everyone and include a variety of digital training for young people, guidance to address project bearers, start-up acceleration and 90% of all the trainings are practical.
The Orange Digital Centers are said to be working as a network, allowing 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.
Stated how it was officially inaugurated, the Orange Digital Center in Sierra Leone is said to be fully operational and equipped to host several digital trainings and events.
Also included was that, in addition, Orange Sierra Leone, in partnership with universities, will be training students for free and rolling out Orange Digital Center Clubs and extending the Orange Digital Center within some universities in the regions.
It was highlighted that in such a way, it will complement the education system to give as many people as possible access to new technologies and support them in using those technologies to their full extent.
Orange and the German Development Cooperation, it was mentioned, 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, highlighted in the Press Release, is to fulfill their shared vision, fostering youth employability while supporting sustainable growth and the country’s digital transformation. The program is also said to be working to advance gender equality and inclusion by promoting access for women and girls to ICT jobs.
The initiative, it was stated, is fully in line with their 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.
On his part, Brelotte Ba, Deputy CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa stated: “I am honored to be present for the launch of our 14th Orange Digital Center today in Freetown, Sierra Leone, which is part of a network of 32 Orange Digital Centers that will be deployed not only in Africa and the Middle East, but also in Europe by 2023. The objective is to democratize access to digital technology for young people – with or without qualifications. We want them to be part of the digital transformation of their country by encouraging them to become digital entrepreneurs, to create local content and thus develop the digital economy of Sierra Leone.”
Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to the Republic of Sierra Leone, Jens Kraus-Massé, noted: “I am delighted to see that our cooperation with Orange contributes to realizing the vision of a digital, innovative and resilient future of Sierra Leone and its people. Our aim is to empower every woman, every girl, every man, and every boy no matter from what background, to take advantage of the opportunities of digitalisation, to get better jobs and eventually better lives for them and their families. Therefore, I am glad that our cooperation with Orange works to this end.”
Chief Executive Officer of Orange Sierra Leone, Sekou Amadou Bah says: “We are proud to inaugurate the first Digital Center of its kind in the country. The Orange Digital Center will provide state-of-the-art facilities with free access for all, reinforcing our strong ambition to democratize digital access for young people, especially women, with or without diplomas, to encourage them to pursue their venture into digital entrepreneurship and prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow. More than 1600 young people were already trained at the center with 52% of women in just one year of activity. Everything we need to see Sierra Leonean digital champions emerge tomorrow.”
