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Orange and GIZ will work hand in
hand to train young people in digital
skills, improve their employability
and help reduce unemployment.
ORANGE AND GIZ FORM
STRATEGIC ALLIANCE TO ENHANCE DIGITAL
EMPLOYABILITY OF YOUNG PEOPLE IN MEA
A
lioune Ndiaye, CEO of Orange
Africa and Middle East, and
Kathinka Kurz, Head of the
Development Partnerships
Program with the private sector at the
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale
Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, have signed a
partnership agreement to develop the digital
skills of 20,000 young people in 14 countries
in the Africa and Middle East region.
Orange and GIZ, recognised for its
expertise and know-how in the field of
innovation and its experience and expertise
in supporting the economic and social
development of partner countries, will work
hand in hand to train young people in digital
skills, improve their employability and thus
help reduce unemployment. Both parties will
join forces and bundle their competences
and resources, with a financial contribution
of €20 million by Orange, and up to
€10 million by GIZ.
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS
INTELLIGENT
TECH CHANNELS
Issue 27
In the context of the project, GIZ acts
as implementation partner for the German
Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation
and Development (BMZ), which has set up
the develoPPP.de program to foster the
involvement of the private sector at the
point where business opportunities and
development policy initiatives overlap.
Orange and GIZ will establish digital
hubs in Africa and the Middle East – Orange
Digital Centers (ODC). These will offer young
people training in digital technology free
of charge and will accelerate the creation
of start-ups and support project leaders.
The ODCs will feature digital state-of-
the-art equipment and the teams will
work with various stakeholders and the
entrepreneurial ecosystem of each country
to train young people and support in
finding jobs. The ODCs will also work with
universities in the regions.
The ODC concept, already launched in
Tunisia and Senegal, will soon be deployed
in Morocco, Jordan, Cameroon, Ethiopia,
Mali, Madagascar, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast,
Egypt, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Liberia.
Each ODC includes a coding school, a FabLab
Solidaire, a start-up accelerator ‘Orange
Fab’ and Orange Digital Ventures Africa, the
Orange Group’s investment fund.
Each of the four programmes are aimed
at a specific audience. The Coding School,
a free access technology centre that offers
training, events and support for developers,
geeks and project ideas.
The FabLab Solidaire, a digital
manufacturing workshop for creating and
prototyping with digital equipment, also
targets young people without diplomas and
without jobs, while the FabLab Solidaire of
the ODC is part of the worldwide network
of 88 FabLabs Solidaires belonging to the
Orange Foundation.
Orange Fab and Orange Digital
Ventures Africa are programmes that
target entrepreneurs. The first is a start-
up accelerator that supports the most
promising start-ups in their commercial
development and also helps them to build
business partnerships with the Orange
Group and the worldwide network of 17
Orange Fabs. The second, Orange Digital
Ventures Africa, is a €50 million investment
fund that finances innovative start-ups in
countries on the African continent and in the
Middle East region.
The Orange Digital Center aims to create
synergies between all these programmes.
Orange is present in 19 countries in
Africa and the Middle East and has nearly
125 million customers. With sales of €5.2
billion in 2018, this zone is a strategic
priority for the Group. Orange Money,
its money transfer and mobile money
service available in 18 countries, has 45
million customers. Orange, a multi-service
operator, a leading partner in Digital
Transformation, brings its know-how to
support the development of new digital
services in Africa and the Middle East.
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