As an international carrier, our duty is twofold: make sure that no one misses out on the digital revolution, and empower the younger generation to make good use of these digital resources. This is why we are committed to providing equal access to the tools needed by digital transformation, globally.
In 2021, the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union estimated that only 33% of the African population had access to the internet. As digital usages keep rising on the continent, the same international organization believes that a mere 10% increase in broadband internet penetration would lead to an additional 2.5% increase in GDP per capita, regardless of other growth factors.
Orange Wholesale International’ involvement in bringing digital transformation to Africa is materialized by a participation in several new game-changing cable systems in the region: Medusa, PEACE and 2Africa. While Medusa runs under the Mediterranean Sea and PEACE along the Eastern Coast of the continent in the Indian Ocean, both cables will use Orange’s landing station in Marseille, France, to connect Africa with the rest of the world.
As for the Meta-led 2Africa consortium in which Orange is involved, with 180 Tbps, this cable will simply bring more capacity to Africa than all existing transcontinental cables combined. No less than 500 million people will therefore benefit from digital inclusion, with better, cheaper access to digital services in health, education, commerce and information.
Digital equality is one of the pivotal commitments within the Orange Engage 2025 strategic plan. In order to fulfil this agenda, Orange has launched several projects to give the keys of this digital revolution to the younger generation wherever the Group is present globally. For instance, 15 Orange Digital Centers were opened in Africa, serving as support and development centers, where anybody can learn digital and project-management skills, including coding classes and small business coaching, completely for free.
