Invest for Jobs, together with Orange Middle East and Africa, marked the completion of the project “Training Digital Skills - Fostering Employment Innovation through Orange Digital Centers” during a closing ceremony held on 17 November 2025 in Rabat, Morocco.
The project was implemented from 2020 to 2023 in 14 countries in Africa and the Middle East. Since then, the project partners have conducted an intensive study to assess the impacts and developed two new projects. The results mark a highly successful collaboration: Thanks to this development partnership with the private sector, more than 60,000 individuals benefited from digital skills training programmes delivered through the Orange Digital Centers network. The project created over 8,000 good jobs in the digital sector, demonstrating its strong contribution to inclusive economic growth and employability.
The project aimed to strengthen digital skills among young people and women while supporting their transition into employment or entrepreneurship. Through the Orange Digital Centers – integrated spaces offering free access training, innovation, and business development support – participants gained access to practical, market-oriented learning opportunities in fields such as coding, digital fabrication, and entrepreneurship.
During the ceremony, representatives from the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Rabat, the develoPPP programme and Orange Middle East and Africa highlighted the added value of long-term collaboration between development cooperation and the private sector.
The event in Rabat also showcased personal success stories of young graduates, who shared how the Orange Digital Centers helped them acquire relevant skills, launch start-ups, or successfully integrate into the labour market. These testimonies reflected the project’s broader ambition: to empower the next generation with the tools needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving digital economy.
The project was supported by Invest for Jobs and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH through the develoPPP programme. develoPPP is a funding programme of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
The cooperation did not stop there. Currently, 2 other projects are being jointly implemented:
The project “Master Repair” is implemented in Morrocco, Tunisia, Senegal and Egypt. Its goal is to train youth in the repair of electronic devices and the maintenance and installation of solar panels and fiber optics, enabling them to find decent jobs or achieve self-employment. The training takes place in the Orange Digital Centers equipped during the first joint project. A dedicated component for persons with disabilities is implemented, enabling them to integrate the training and to find decent jobs. In Morrocco, Senegal and Tunisia, develoPPP and Orange Middle East and Africa work with Handicap International to achieve this.
The DigiGreen & Agri Project is co-financed by European Union. It is implemented in Côte d’Ivoire with a focus on promoting digital skills to transform agriculture for better adaptation to the impacts of climate change. The aim is to improve employability and create good jobs for young Ivorians in the digital sector, as well as to support start-ups that contribute to resilient agriculture and the reduction of CO₂ emissions.
The joint project of Orange and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is part of the develoPPP programme of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). In Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Morocco, Senegal and Tunisia, the Orange Digital Centers are supported by the Special Initiative “Decent Work for a Just Transition”. Further project locations are in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Guinea, Jordan, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali and Sierra Leone.