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Orange Maroc and the German Cooperation have inaugurated the first “Orange Digital Centre” (ODC) in Rabat Morocco, a digital ecosystem entirely dedicated to the development of digital skills and innovation.
The Orange Digital Centre in Morocco becomes the 9th to be launched in Africa and 10th overall including the Middle East region.
Orange Digital Centre is an innovative concept which brings together four strategic programs of the Orange group, namely, a coding school, a solidarity FabLab and an Orange Fab start-up accelerator.
“I am very proud to inaugurate the 10th Orange Digital Centre today in Morocco, which is part of a network of 32 Orange Digital Centres that will be deployed not only, in Africa and the Middle East, but also in Europe,” said Alioune Ndiaye, Chairman and CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa.
“The objective is to democratize access to digital technology to young people – with or without qualifications – giving them access to the latest technological skills to strengthen their employability and prepare them for the jobs of tomorrow,” added Ndiaye.
The company says all of the programs are provided free-of charge and open to everyone. They range from digital training for young people, 90% of which are practical, start-up acceleration, and guidance for project bearers and investment.
Working as a network, the Orange Digital Centres allow experiences and expertise to be shared between countries and offer a simple and inclusive approach to improve young people’s employability, encourage innovative entrepreneurship and promote the local digital ecosystem.
Initially based in Rabat, ODC aims to also be present in the various regions of the Kingdom, firstly through “ODC Clubs” deployed within partner universities and major schools, thus complementing the education system to give as many people as possible access to new technologies and support them in putting these technologies to use them to their full extent.
Hendrik Kasteel, CEO of Orange Morocco, said: “The programs we implement with the support of our partners help us achieve our objectives, which are to give young people the keys to improving their digital skills in order to support their employability and contribute to the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Orange Digital Centre will welcome thousands of young Moroccan talents and allow them to develop their skills, projects or digital startups. This initiative will have a real impact in the society as a whole.”
Orange and the German Cooperation are working together as part of a development partnership within the develoPPP program, which the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is implementing on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The goal is to fulfil their shared vision, fostering youth employability while supporting sustainable growth and the country’s digital transformation. The programme is also working to advance gender equality and inclusion by promoting access for women and girls to ICT jobs.
This initiative is more broadly in line with the Orange Group’s Engage 2025 strategic plan, which commits to rolling out an ODC by 2025 in each of the countries in which it operates.
To date, ten Orange Digital Centres have already opened in the region: Tunisia, Senegal, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Jordan, Madagascar, Morocco, Mali and Egypt. More openings are scheduled by the end of the year, says Orange.
Orange is present in 18 countries in Africa and the Middle East and has 135 million customers at 31 December 2021. With 6.4 billion euros of revenues in 2021, Orange MEA is the first growth area in the Orange group.
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