Orange is preparing to open 50 new Orange Digital Centers in Africa
May 18th 2026
Present in 17 African countries, Orange is deploying a multi-service model that goes far beyond telecommunications. At the Africa Forward Summit in Kenya, the French group unveiled a new initiative.
Investing in Africa’s greatest asset: its youth. It is around this theme that the Orange group unveiled on Tuesday, May 12, at the Africa Forward Summit held in Nairobi, a new phase of its commitment to youth employability on the continent.
As part of its socio-economic transformation strategy, the operator aims to train more than 3 million young people by 2030 in digital professions, particularly in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and entrepreneurship. These free, certified training programs will be delivered through an expanded network of dedicated infrastructure.
To support this objective, Orange plans to open 50 new Orange Digital Centers, bringing the total number to 100 in Africa and the Middle East. The initiative will also leverage academic partnerships with over 167 universities, as well as international learning platforms such as Coursera. The aim is to strengthen access to digital skills and better align training programs with labor market needs.
Beyond training, the group also intends to accelerate the professional integration of young people. Orange plans to support more than 500 startups by 2030, building on a program that has already helped more than 400 young companies across the continent. The goal is to transform acquired skills into concrete economic opportunities in promising sectors such as fintech, healthcare, agriculture, and e-commerce.
This focus on employment is particularly evident in the “Master Repair” program, developed in partnership with GIZ. Deployed in Morocco, Tunisia, Senegal and Egypt, this project aims to train young people in technical professions related to the repair of electronic equipment, as well as the installation and maintenance of energy and connectivity solutions.
At the halfway point, the program has already enabled 285 young people to acquire practical skills, with a particular focus on inclusion: 26% of participants are women and nearly a third are people with disabilities. The project is now entering a phase dedicated to professional integration, with enhanced support for finding salaried employment or self-employment.
By combining training, entrepreneurial support, and professional integration, Orange aims to address one of the continent’s major challenges: creating jobs for a rapidly growing young population. This strategy is part of a broader movement to make digital technology a driver of economic and social inclusion in Africa.
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