Orange and German Development Corporation build digital centre in Sierra Leone

Orange and the German Development Cooperation have announced the opening of an Orange Digital Center (ODC) in Sierra Leone. The centre will serve as an ecosystem entirely dedicated to the development of digital skills and innovation.

The centre will have a floor space spanning over 500 square metre and 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 investment fund of Orange Group that invests in the most talented startups of Orange Digital Center).

All programs at the centre will be provided free of charge and open to everyone. The programs will also include a variety of digital training for young people, guidance to address project barriers, and start-up acceleration.

Speaking on the launch, Sekou Amadou BahChief Executive Officer of Orange Sierra Leone said, “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 democratise 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 centre with 52% of women in just one year of activity. Everything we need to see Sierra Leonean digital champions emerge tomorrow.”

Orange has also built similar digital centers in Tunisia, Senegal, Ethiopia, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Egypt, Jordan, Madagascar, Morocco, Liberia, Botswana, and Guinea.