Intelligent CIO Africa Issue 75 | Page 12

NEWS

Orange launches its 15th Digital Centre in Democratic Republic of Congo

Following in the footsteps of Tunisia , Senegal , Ethiopia , Mali , Côte d ’ Ivoire , Cameroon , Egypt , Jordan , Madagascar , Morocco , Liberia , Botswana , Guinea , Sierra Leone , it is in Democratic Republic of Congo that the 15th Orange Digital Centre in Africa and the Middle East is inaugurated .
With a floor space spreading over 590 sqm , it brings together four strategic programmes of the Orange group , namely : A coding school , Digital Academy , a solidarity FabLab – a digital manufacturing workshops , an Orange Fab start-up accelerator , as well as the Orange Ventures Middle East and Africa , the investment fund of Orange Group that invests in the most talented startups .

Orange has launched officially in Kinshasa , the 15th Orange Digital Centre , ODC , an ecosystem entirely dedicated to the development of digital skills and innovation , in presence of high-level Congolese political and academic authorities , members of Orange DRC Management , members of Orange Middle East and Africa Board and the Orange Group Executive Committee .

All these programmes are free and open to all . They range from practical digital training for young people , to support for project leaders , to accelerating and investing in start-ups .
Working as a network , the Orange Digital Centres allows 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 .

Liquid Intelligent Technologies , Microsoft Airband Initiative to bring connectivity to 20M underserved people in Africa by 2025

Liquid Intelligent Technologies , a business of Cassava Technologies , announced a new collaboration to deliver internet access to 20 million underserved people in Africa by the end of 2025 , with Microsoft Corp . Working together through Microsoft ’ s Airband initiative , the new collaboration will initially target regions that include but are not limited to the Democratic Republic of Congo , Tanzania , and Zambia .

Additionally , the partnership will allow for increased proliferation of high-speed connectivity to the farthest parts of Nigeria , Kenya , and South Africa .
Working together , the companies will empower individuals and businesses in some of the United Nations ’ least developed countries to help bridge the digital divide and assist in transitioning more African countries into the digital economy . This new collaboration with Liquid Intelligent Technologies builds upon existing collaboration to catalyse economic growth and development in Africa .
Liquid has firmly established itself as the leading provider of pan- African digital infrastructure with a 100,000 km-long fibre broadband network and satellite connectivity that provides high-speed access to the Internet anywhere in Africa . Liquid is also leveraging its digital network to provide Cloud and Cyber Security solutions through strategic partnerships with leading global players .
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