18 December 2019
Alioune Ndiaye
Orange and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH will develop the digital skills of 20,000 young people in 14 countries in Africa and the Middle East as part of a new deal.
The companies will work hand-in-hand to train young people in digital skills, improve their employability and thus help reduce unemployment.
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 programme to foster the involvement of the private sector at the time where business opportunities and development policy initiatives overlap.
Orange and GIZ will set up digital hubs in Africa and the Middle East–the Orange Digital Centres (ODC).
These centres offer free training to young people in digital technology, speed up the creation of start-ups and support project leaders. The ODCs will be equipped with digital equipment. Teams will work with different stakeholders and the entrepreneurial ecosystem of each country to train young people and encourage them to find work. The ODCs will also work with regional universities.
This concept, already live in Tunisia and Senegal, will soon be deployed in Morocco, Jordan, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Mali, Madagascar, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Guinea and Liberia. Each ODC includes a coding school, FabLab Solidaire, a start-up accelerator ‘Orange Fab’ and Orange Digital Ventures Africa, an investment fund of the Orange Group.
The agreement was signed by Alioune Ndiaye, CEO of Orange Africa and Middle East, and Kathinka Kurz, head of the development partnerships programme with the Private Sector (develoPPP.de) at GIZ.
