In 2015, the UN  recognized technology’s crucial role in achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by naming it as one of the key means for their implementation. Since then, a growing number of companies have used their technological know-how to further development, making the private sector an important player in achieving SDGs. In this interview, Asma Ennaifer, CEO of Orange Digital Center in Africa and Middle East, explains how the Orange Digital Center initiative contributes to an inclusive and sustainable development.

Last April, Orange launched its first Orange Digital Center in Tunis. Can you explain what this new space is?

The Orange Digital Center is a new concept deployed by the Orange Group in Africa and the Middle East. It aims to promote digital training and to support youth employability by preparing young people for the jobs of tomorrow, as well as encouraging innovation and technological entrepreneurship.

To do this, the centre brings a number of programmes together in a single location. These range from training young people in digital technology, to accelerating start-ups, to providing support and investment for project owners. Specifically, the centre includes a coding school, a “Solidarity FabLab”, a start-up accelerator known as “Orange Fab”, and the Orange Group investment fund, Orange Digital Ventures Africa.

These four programmes are integrated within the same space to form a genuine “third place” for innovation. Each of the Orange Digital Centers’ programmes is aimed at a specific audience. The coding school is an open access technology centre, and completely free of charge. It is aimed at students, young developers and project owners.

The Solidarity FabLab is a digital manufacturing workshop for designing and prototyping using digital equipment. It is aimed at a similar audience, but also targets young people with no qualifications or jobs.

Orange Fab and Orange Digital Ventures Africa are programmes that target entrepreneurs. Orange Fab is a start-up accelerator that supports the most promising young people in their business ventures. It also helps them to build commercial partnerships with the Orange Group and the global Orange Fab network. Orange Digital Ventures Africa is an investment fund with a budget of €50 million. It finances innovative start-ups from countries in Africa and the Middle East.

Several stakeholders are involved in your project. What are the benefits of working in partnerships? 

The Orange group’s CSR strategy and the Group Foundation’s policy are based mainly on a concerted approach to development aid, built in large part around public-private partnerships. The Orange Digital Center programmes are no exception, as they are deployed in close collaboration with several stakeholders, including governments, local and international NGOs and academia. The aim is to increase youth employability and encourage enterprise and innovation.

The main advantage of working with all these stakeholders is being able to best meet everybody’s expectations, of governments of young people, as well as those of the business sector. It allows the inclusion of as many people as possible.

For example, working with academia allows you to give a professional opinion on the training courses offered to students, to ensure that they are properly tailored to the demands of the labour market.

In fact, we position ourselves between the university and the labour market. We get young people to work on practical projects because companies these days are looking for candidates with current operational experience. 

How does this project contribute to the development of the countries in which you operate?

With Orange Digital Center, we hope ultimately to contribute to reducing youth unemployment, which is often very high in the region concerned. Strengthening young people’s skills via digital technology will enable them to find a job or encourage them to start a business. It is also about preparing them for tomorrow’s jobs.

The centre’s added value lies mainly in creating synergies between the different programmes. Young people are called upon to work on real projects. At the coding school, they are trained in the latest technological trends, and they can build their prototypes in the Solidarity FabLab. The goal is to foster the creation of completed technological projects. Young people trained in this way will have the option to launch their own start-up or to make use of technology incubation. They can also look to the job market in which they will be directly operational.

Ultimately, our mission is to make digital technology an opportunity for all. This initiative is part of our goal of placing digital inclusion at the heart of our societal commitment. The Orange Digital Center aims to provide all young people, particularly girls and women, with high-quality training and support.

And what are the next steps of this programme ?

To allow more young people to benefit from our programme, we are setting up similar structures in Senegal, Jordan and Cameroon. These should be in place by the end of the year. From 2020, Morocco, Egypt, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Mali and many countries in Africa and the Middle East will have their own Orange Digital Center.

INTERVIEW BY BAPTISTE FASSIN
PUBLICATION & COMMUNICATION OFFICER
CONVERGENCES

https://vusak.org/ deneme bonusu
deneme bonusu veren siteler
mencisport.com
mt2
deneme bonusu veren siteler
Aliaga Escort
casino siteleri
Xxx rated legal age teenager porn
bonus veren siteler
footballofficialscamp.com
deneme bonusu veren siteler deneme bonusu veren siteler
zlibary ai deepfake porn
Kaçak İddaa Siteleri
deneme bonusu veren siteler bonus veren siteler
aresbet
deneme bonusu veren siteler
bahis siteleri
sweet bonanza
casino siteleri
1xbetm.info betticketbet.com trwintr.com trbettr.info oslobet
beylikduzu escort
deneme bonusu veren siteler
deneme bonusu veren siteler
Kazandra Giriş
maltepe escort ümraniye escort anadolu yakası escort
Skip to content