Orange Cameroun inaugurates Orange Digital Center Club in UB.

The totally free and innovative space aims to boost students’ digital skills and increase their employability.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Director General of Orange Cameroun, Patrick Benon, said the Centre is a demonstration of their commitment to support digitalisation in Cameroon and Africa in general.
“Because we know that the fight to reduce the digital divide cannot be the sole responsibility of public authorities and international institutions, Orange Cameroun once again reaffirms its commitment to working alongside the government in taking the digital ecosystem a step ahead in Cameroon and in the South West region in particular. With the Buea Orange Digital Center, we are taking a step forward together, as with the facility we are going to give opportunities for young people to shape their projects and bring their ambitions into reality,” Benon said. 
Among the diplomats who attended the event were: Dr Fricke Corinna, German Ambassador to Cameroon; Jean-Marc Chataigner, European Union Ambassador to Cameroon; Jacquemin Eric, Belgian Ambassador; Garcia Lumbreras Ignacio, Spain’s Ambassador, and Scammacca Del Murgo Filippo, Italy’s chief diplomat to Yaounde. 
Considering the fact that, the German cooperation via GIZ is the main investor in the Orange Digital Center Clubs, the German Ambassador to Cameroon, Dr Fricke Corinna, said the Center would make a difference in the lives of the young people using it. 
“I am very proud to see that based on our cooperation, private engagement is improving the capacity of young people to make a difference in their lives and I think the Orange Digital Centre is a good example of this combination,” Dr Corinna said.

Chataigner Jean-Marc qualified the Center as a fresh push from Orange Cameroun to empower young people, women and the private sector in Cameroon. 
He hailed the presentations of learners at the Center, stating that, their knowledge confirms the place of digitalisation in today’s world.

About Orange Digital Center Clubs
Orange Digital Center Clubs, ODCs, are delocalised centres in universities to extend Orange Digital Centre activities and address a larger number of students.
Orange Cameroun is strengthening its commitment to digital inclusion and youth employability through the Centers. 
The ODC Club of Buea is the first Orange Digital Center branch in the South West. It has as objectives to support the digitisation of the University of Buea, improve the employability of future graduates through acquiring digital skills to complement the university curriculum. 
The Center also seeks to promote cooperation and synergies with key players in the digital and entrepreneurial ecosystems, support for personal projects and contribute to university animations with contributions from external players
Three ODC Clubs, it should be said, are currently operational in Yaoundé II, Buea and Ngaoundere.

Promoting digitalisation, empowering young people
Speaking to the press, the Director General of Orange Cameroun, Patrick Benon, said the Center is a demonstration of their commitment to support digitalisation in Cameroon and Africa in general.
Digital transformation, he said, can take Cameroon to another level given the immense talent of its young people. 
“…in many competitions, we see Cameroonians emerging best like the Orange Social Venture Prize (OSVP) where Cameroonians have been the best three times in the last five years,” Benon said, adding that the bright young brains in Cameroon, be it in the public or private sectors, should be supported.
The Orange Digital Center, he disclosed, has Orange Ventures, which is a fund to support start-ups. The company, the CEO said, has already supported many start-ups. 
The Orange Digital Center, Benon added, will give young people an opportunity to network with others in 15 other countries in Africa and the Middle-East. 

“Young people can also skills acquisition in the center for which they will have certificates, which gives them an advantage when they go job seeking,” Benon said, adding that: “We want to provide them with relevant support”.
On the choice of Buea, the Orange Cameroun CEO, highlighted the fact that, the city hosts the University of Buea, Silicon Mountain and very talented young people. 
“Buea has many talented people because in most of the competitions we organise, we have many people from the South West Region so that is why we want to invest in the talent of the young people in their area,” the Orange Cameroun boss remarked.

UB administration thanks Orange Cameroun for the support
Addressing stakeholders during the launching ceremony, the representative of the Vice Chancellor of UB, Professor Sone Ekonde, thanked Orange Cameroun for such a donation. The center, he said, would contribute to ensuring excellence.
Such a structure, Prof Ekonde underscored, will be a testament to the eternal support offered by Orange Cameroun to the university.

Orange Digital Center Club beneficiaries testify
Wanchi Lucia Yen, a College of Technology student and beneficiary of the center said it provided a platform for her first project in technology. 
The center, she said, will boost creativity, innovation and develop technological solutions to contemporary problems. 
This new milestone, a totally free Orange Digital Center Club dedicated to students, reaffirms Orange Cameroun's commitment to the inclusion of young people.