• Orange Côte d’Ivoire and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed a partnership to expand digital skills training and youth employability in Côte d’Ivoire.
• The agreement targets young women and vulnerable populations through training, entrepreneurship support and innovation hubs.
• Côte d’Ivoire aims to raise the digital sector’s contribution to GDP to 15% by 2030 from about 6% currently.

Orange Côte d’Ivoire and the United Nations Development Programme plan to accelerate digital inclusion and youth employability through a new partnership focused on digital training and entrepreneurship. Both parties formalized the cooperation on Thursday, May 21, through a memorandum of understanding signed in Abidjan.

The agreement provides for the joint deployment of digital skills training programs, with a particular focus on young women and vulnerable populations. The initiative will also support start-ups and develop innovation hubs by leveraging the infrastructure of Orange Digital Center, the telecom group’s entrepreneurial support platform.

Moreover, the partners said they plan to extend the programs beyond Abidjan into several rural areas and underserved localities. The initiative aims to reduce disparities in access to digital skills in a country where digital transformation continues to concentrate largely in major urban centers.

The partnership comes as digital skills become increasingly strategic for Côte d’Ivoire’s economy. The country’s Digital Acceleration Project (PADCI) notably plans to develop intermediate and advanced digital skills, while prioritizing young people and women.

At the same time, Ivorian authorities aim to increase the digital sector’s contribution to GDP to 15% by 2030 from around 6% currently. The government plans to achieve that target through investments in infrastructure, digital services and human capital.

For Orange Côte d’Ivoire, the partnership forms part of a broader strategy to develop value-added services around digital education and innovation. The operator, which says it serves more than 35 million customers across Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso and Liberia, has expanded initiatives related to digital professions training, coding and support for technology entrepreneurs in recent years.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Development Programme said the cooperation aligns with programs that use digital technology as a lever to reduce inequalities and support economic inclusion.

Both partners therefore aim to support the emergence of a more inclusive digital ecosystem capable of meeting the growing needs of Côte d’Ivoire’s labor market.

This article was initially published in French by Samira Njoya

Adapted in English by Ange J.A de Berry Quenum