Boosting digital economy: Orange Cameroun Digital Centre trains over 2,500, supports 20 startups.

The feat has been recorded within three years since the launching of the Orange Cameroon Digital Centre in 2020. The disclosure was made known to the press during an event in Douala Tuesday February 28, 2023. 

The event was to assess the strides recorded by the Orange Cameroun Digital Centre since its creation. This was an opportunity for the press during a guide tour in the institution, to discover services offered by the center and encourage young Cameroonians to dream big through digital entrepreneurship.

Officials revealed that the digital centre has successfully grabbed a strategic partnership with GIZ, and received close to 308 million FCFA from the German cooperation. 

With one central site located in Akwa, officials disclosed that the Orange Cameroun Digital Centre has been able to create two delocalised sites at the Universities of Yaoundé II, Soa, in the Centre Region and the University of Buea in the South West Region.

In order to spread the goodness that comes with digitalisation, the telecom company is also constructing another club in the University of Dschang in the West Region, officials said. 

They stated that the digital centre currently has some 15 operational partnerships with local and international partners such as Amazon, Google, United Nation Development Programme, UNDP, National Employment Fund, NEF, which are extending a hand towards the growth of startups. 

In all, officials say the centre has trained 2,544 people, 38% of them being women, and a total of 117 certifications offered. It has also created 340 jobs, with 10 challenges and prizes to encourage young entrepreneurs.  

Despite strides recorded, the Orange Digital Centre craves for more. It plans to an expansion project with earmarked projects including the deployment of Orange Digital Clubs in main universities across the country. The company also wants to, through the digital centre, reinforce employment and develop beneficial synergies. 

Orange Cameroun, it should be said, had invested over 20 million Euros to co-finance activities of the centre between 2020 to 2022 while the German corporation GIZ pumped in 10 million Euros. 

The structure has a code school to stimulate creativity amongst learners; a FabLab, which allows people to learn by practical activities, a start-up stimulator called Orange Fab.

It was also revealed that an investment fund dedicated to financing innovative start-ups has been used by past young entrepreneurs to boost their works. 

The Orange Ventures fund, it was revealed, is an initiative of the Orange Group with over 350 million euros (229 billion FCFA), including 50 million (32.8 billion FCFA) earmarked for Africa and Middle East zone.

“We have trainings around coding, we have digital embroidery trainings, we have specific program that is aimed at discovering the digital space called the woman digital class. We come up with challenges in order to identify innovative ideas of tomorrow that can have an impact on our social lives,” Mbakop Bouli.

The centre, Mbakop Bouli added, also has a program dubbed Orange FAB which supports startups to boost their growth.

“…we also have programs that help young students to have their first employment experience. We also have programs for kids to discover the digital world. It runs during the holidays,” the Marketing, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Manager at Orange Digital Centre stated. 

The company also plans to, through the digital centre, celebrate women on the occasion of the International Women’s Day to be celebrated March 8. Orange Digital Center has drawn up activities for women, to run till mid-March. 

“We have sessions of woman digital class that we are going to run from 6th of March,” Mbakop disclosed.