• Orange Egypt opened its first Upper Egypt digital training center at Aswan University with GIZ, building on its Cairo hub that has trained thousands of youth.
• The Aswan center provides free training in software, data, cybersecurity, embedded systems, and prototyping, reflecting Orange’s CSR focus on youth.
• Orange’s centers echo wider African efforts like Nigeria’s iDICE, unfolding against the backdrop of Egypt’s ICT sector growth of 14.4% in FY 2023/24.

Orange Egypt, on January 27, opened its digital training center in Upper Egypt at Aswan University, in partnership with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ). The facility is part of the Orange Digital Center network, which began with a Cairo hub in 2021 to train young people in digital technologies.

According to Orange Egypt, the new center will provide free training in software development, data analysis, cybersecurity, embedded systems, and prototyping. The initiative is supported by the German government under the develoPPP program, implemented by GIZ, with the stated aim of expanding access to underserved communities.

These programs are unfolding against the backdrop of Egypt’s rapidly expanding ICT sector, which grew by 14.4% in FY 2023/24, generated EGP 315 billion in revenues, and contributed 5.8% to GDP, with projections to reach 8% by 2030, according to the Information Technology Industry Development Agency (ITIDA).

Other telecom operators are also pursuing digital empowerment initiatives. In December 2023, Vodafone Egypt and Vodafone Egypt Foundation signed two Memoranda of Understanding with the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology to strengthen students’ digital capabilities and build specialized expertise in the ICT sector. The National Telecommunication Institute (NTI), operating under the Ministry, is running the Digital Egypt Youth-Egypt Makes Electronics program, a four-month initiative offering training in electronics, embedded systems, network infrastructure, cybersecurity, DevOps engineering, telecom engineering, and software engineering.

The initiatives are part of a wider trend across Africa to equip young people with digital skills. In Nigeria, the government launched the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) program in 2023, co-financed by the African Development Bank and partners, to support entrepreneurs in technology and creative industries. Airtel Africa has also partnered with Nigeria’s government to support the 3 Million Technical Talent program, which focuses on training youth in areas such as coding, cybersecurity, and data analysis. In Rwanda, the Digital Ambassadors Program (DAP) has raised the country’s digital literacy rate from less than 10 percent to 75.2 percent within seven years, according to the Rwanda Information Society Authority.

Hikmatu Bilali