Orange has announced a major expansion of its commitments to youth employability, entrepreneurship, digital inclusion, connectivity and inclusive artificial intelligence across Africa, including a target to train more than 3 million young people and support more than 500 new startups by 2030.
The announcement was made at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, in the presence of heads of state and business leaders from Africa and France.
By 2030, Orange said it aims to have trained more than 3 million young people in the technologies and jobs of tomorrow — particularly in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud computing and digital entrepreneurship — through free, certified programmes. To support this, the group will expand its Orange Digital Centers network from 50 to 100 sites, building on its existing footprint across Africa and the Middle East. The expansion will leverage partnerships with 167 universities, global learning platforms including Coursera, and local innovation ecosystems.
Beyond skills training, Orange is targeting support for more than 500 new startups by 2030 across healthcare, agriculture, fintech, education and e-commerce. The new commitment builds on the more than 400 startups Orange has already supported to date, contributing to job creation, innovation and economic inclusion across the continent.
To support broader access, Orange reaffirmed its commitment to continued investment in long-distance terrestrial networks and submarine cables, including Djoliba, 2Africa and Via Africa, to expand connectivity and reduce the digital divide in underserved areas. As part of its environmental commitments, the company also announced plans to double its solar-powered sites to cover 60% of its footprint, contributing to lower carbon emissions, greater energy resilience and more sustainable connectivity infrastructure.
The group also announced an acceleration of its AI strategy in Africa, including the development of local language AI models integrated into its super app Max it. The goal is to make AI more inclusive and accessible to African populations and the languages they actually speak.
Orange thanked longstanding partners — including the World Bank Group, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, the European Union and the French Development Agency — for their collaboration on youth employability and digital inclusion, and signalled openness to expanding the partnership coalition further.
“Africa’s future will be shaped by its youth, its talent, and its capacity to innovate,” said Orange CEO Christel Heydemann. “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.”
Orange has operated in Africa for more than 30 years and is currently active in 18 African countries, serving 180 million people with mobile, broadband and digital financial services. Through Orange Money — which has 47 million active users and managed €196 billion in transactions in 2025 — the group has expanded financial inclusion across the continent. Its super app Max it has 23 million active users.
