As part of promoting digital inclusion, Orange has inaugurated its dedicated innovation facility ‘Orange Digital Centre’ in Darkar, Senegal
Following on from Tunisia, Senegal will be home to the second Orange Digital Centre in Africa and the Middle East. With a surface area of 2,000 sq m on six floors, the Orange Digital Centre in Dakar will be the first of its kind in West Africa.
Working as a network, these places allow experiences and expertise to be shared between countries and offer a simple and inclusive approach to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship and to support the local digital ecosystem.
The purpose of the Orange Digital Centres is to bring together several strategic programmes under the same roof: coding school, Solidarity FabLab, Orange Fab and Orange Digital Ventures Africa, the group's investment fund.
All of the programmes provided are free-of-charge and include digital training for young people, start-up acceleration, and guidance for project owners and investment in these projects.
Other centres are expected to open by the end of the year in Jordan, Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire, with yet more in 2020 in Morocco and Egypt. Ultimately, similar organisations will be deployed in all the countries within Orange’s footprint in Africa and the Middle-East as well as in Europe.
“As the main contributor to the digital ecosystem in Senegal, Sonatel supports the emergence of a creative and flourishing ecosystem that provides digital players with the opportunity to imagine ways to create and prosper.” said Sékou Dramé, CEO of Sonatel.
“We are working in close collaboration with all the stakeholders, including governments and academics, to strengthen the employability of young Africans and to encourage them to run businesses and to innovate in their countries. Our ambition is to deploy this initiative outside Africa, from the south to the north, by opening Orange Digital Centres in France and Europe.” added Alioune Ndiaye, CEO of Orange Africa and the Middle East.
The Orange Foundation’s mission, in the countries where it operates, is to provide everyone with a chance by leveraging digital technology, said Christine Albanel.
