Orange and OpenClassrooms are to provide digital training in Africa.
Several Orange subsidiaries across the continent are already working on the launch of training centres, with online courses being provided.
To rise to the challenge of the digital revolution in Africa, students and teachers need to be trained in the new technology. There are two objectives for countries in Africa: to use digital technology to boost growth and to focus on new sectors of business that create jobs.
In both cases, it is essential to train young Africans to ensure the economic development of the continent and avoid the brain drain of strategic skills for its development. By 2050, the African population will double to 2.5 billion, half of whom will be under the age of 25, according to estimates by the UN. Investing in education is a priority to overcome the lack of physical and technical infrastructure.
Therefore, to support Africa in this major project, Orange and OpenClassrooms, leader of French-language online education, have combined forces to form a broad-based partnership to train young Africans in digital technology.
The students will have access to the OpenClassrooms courses via the mobile network.
The courses can be followed on the student’s smartphone for subjects that don’t require a computer or on a computer with internet access via the user’s smartphone for instance, for courses on programming.
Digital training centres will be established based on the OpenClassrooms diploma with “guaranteed employment” commitment, with the help of local partners, whose premises will be used as training and examination centres.
The courses are made up of series of texts, videos, and quizzes. The smartphone courses are easy to access, encourage the sharing of knowledge between students and user friendly and optimised for data consumption.
“The digital revolution is an exceptional opportunity for Africa, both as an accelerator for development and for new sectors of activity where it can excel,” said Bruno Mettling, CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa.
Pierre Dubuc, CEO of OpenClassrooms, added: “We are proud to contribute to the development of digital skills in Africa via this unique partnership with Orange.
“Backed by the quality of the Orange network in Africa, our educational expertise will boost development and the creation of jobs.”
