Orange Announces Expanded Commitments to Youth, Connectivity and Inclusive AI in Africa
The Group announced its ambition to support more than 500 new startups by 2030 across strategic sectors including healthcare, agriculture, fintech, education, and e-commerce building on the support already provided to more than 400 startups to date, and further contributing to job creation, innovation, and economic inclusion across the continent.
At the Africa Forward Summit, held in Nairobi, Kenya, in the presence of heads of state and business leaders from Africa and France, Orange announced a major acceleration of its commitments to youth employability, entrepreneurship, digital inclusion, connectivity, and inclusive artificial intelligence across the African continent.
Investing in Africa’s greatest asset: its youth
As part of its long-term engagement to Africa’s socio-economic transformation, Orange announced that by 2030, it will have trained more than 3 million young people in the technologies and jobs of tomorrow particularly in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud, and digital entrepreneurship through free, certified programs.
To support this ambition, Orange will expand its Orange Digital Centers network from 50 to 100 centers, building on the existing footprint across Africa and the Middle East and leveraging partnerships with 167 universities, leading global learning platforms such as Coursera, and local innovation ecosystems.
Beyond skills, Orange is also committed to turning talent into opportunity. The Group announced its ambition to support more than 500 new startups by 2030 across strategic sectors including healthcare, agriculture, fintech, education, and e-commerce building on the support already provided to more than 400 startups to date, and further contributing to job creation, innovation, and economic inclusion across the continent.
Building resilient and sustainable infrastructure for a connected continent
Empowering people requires connecting them. To strengthen Africa’s digital infrastructure, Orange reaffirmed its commitment to continued investments in long-distance terrestrial networks and submarine cables including Djoliba, 2Africa, and Via Africa to expand connectivity and reduce the digital divide across underserved territories.
As part of its environmental commitments, Orange also announced that it will double its solar-powered sites to reach 60% of its footprint, contributing to lower carbon emissions, greater energy resilience, and more sustainable connectivity infrastructure.
Making AI work for Africa, in Africa’s languages
Connectivity and skills are only part of the equation. Orange announced the acceleration of its artificial intelligence strategy in Africa through the development of local language AI models integrated into its super app Max it with the ambition of making artificial intelligence more inclusive and accessible to African populations and languages.
A coalition for impact: thanking partners, opening doors
None of this is possible alone. Orange thanked its longstanding partners — including the World Bank Group, BMZ, the European Union, and AFD — for their continued collaboration and commitment to advancing youth employability and digital inclusion in Africa, while reaffirming its openness to expanding this coalition of partners to accelerate impact across the continent.
“Africa’s future will be shaped by its youth, its talent, and its capacity to innovate. At Orange, we are committed to supporting this ambition through long-term investments in skills, connectivity, entrepreneurship, and inclusive digital technologies across the continent. Africa’s digital future is being built today. Orange is proud to be part of that story.”
– Christel Heydemann, CEO, Orange
Orange is one of Africa’s leading telecommunications operators and has been present in Africa for more than 30 years, building networks, connecting communities, and supporting the continent’s digital transformation from the ground up. Today, Orange operates in 18 African countries, serving 180 million people with mobile, broadband, and digital financial services.
Orange’s commitment to Africa goes far beyond connectivity. Through Orange Money, which hosts 47 million active users and managed 196 billion euros in transactions in 2025, the Group helps bring financial services to millions of people. Through its super app “Max it”, which boasts 23 million active users, Orange is reimagining what a digital platform can do for everyday life on the continent.
