After launching in Tunisia and Senegal, Ethiopia will be home to the third Orange Digital Hub in Africa and the Middle East.
Taking up a space of 500m2, it will be the first digital hub in Africa that will act as a strategic network.
Enabling insights and skills to be exchanged between countries.
And providing a clear and inclusive approach to improve the employability of young people.
Also, to facilitate innovative entrepreneurship and to foster the local digital ecosystem.
Orange and GIZ are collaborating together in a development collaboration of the develoPPP.de programme.
Which GIZ manages on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The project is funded by BMZ’s Special Program on Training and Job Development.
Which also works under the brand Invest for Employment.
The know-how of Orange in educating and empowering young people in the area of digital skills and creativity will be complemented by GIZ’s vast experience and local knowledge in tackling the problems inherent in the career development and entrepreneurship of young Ethiopians.
“Building the “Digital and Innovation Environment” is a multi-stakeholders agenda that requires holistic policy envisioning.
However, vibrant enabling system and innovative and efficient collaboration among stakeholders like this “Responsible” move of Orange and parties involved.
I must acknowledge and encourage, indeed it is an initiative worth investing on.” Said H.E Dr. Abraham Belay, Minister of Innovation & Technology.
“Ethiopia has a young, dynamic and teachable workforce.
As well as policy frameworks to enable the launching of a project as Orange Digital Center.
We thus embraced this project with great excitement and have been promoting it since day one.
Young people, innovation and technology are crucial to shaping the future of Ethiopia.” Said H.E Lelise Neme, Commissioner of the Ethiopian Investment Commission.
H.E. Sandokan Debebe, CEO at Industrial Parks Development Corporation also stated that;
“We are excited about the launching of an Orange Digital Center at the IPDC’s ICT park.
In addition, we are working hard in order to build world class ICT industries in Ethiopia.
Although,we believe that the skills that will be built here will be very precious to help the IPDC’s aim of having ICT park as a central hub to Africa, place of technical information transfer, an incentive for IT base work creations and a base for country’s development towards becoming the middle-income economy.”
Also Mr. Alioune Ndiaye, CEO of Orange Middle East & Africa disclosed that;
“I am very proud to launch with all our partners the third Orange Digital Center in Addis-Ababa, which will be part of a network of 32 Orange Digital Centers based across two continents: Africa/Middle East and Europe.
With the sponsorship of GIZ, Orange promotes East Africa’s digital economy by supplying young Ethiopians with all the technical know-how to build more work opportunities.
This service will be complemented by two ODC Clubs that will be deployed swiftly in various regions to reach out to many more young people.
I would like to remind you that we are preparing to open other Orange Digital Centers by the end of the year in Africa and the Middle-East.”
Orange is operating in 18 countries in Africa and the Middle East and has 128 million customers.
With 5.8 billion euros of revenues in 2020, Orange MEA is the first development area in the Orange group.
Orange, multi-services operator, main supporter in the digital revolution offers its expertise to promote the growth of new digital services in Africa and the Middle East.
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