Africa Forward: Orange Unveils Major Commitments in Nairobi

From training three million young people to doubling its solar-powered sites, the telecom giant is positioning Africa and the Middle East as the engine of its global growth.

Key points

• Orange commits to training three million young people and supporting 500 startups across Africa by 2030
• The group will double its Orange Digital Centers from 50 to 100 and expand solar-powered infrastructure to 60% of its network
• Africa and the Middle East generated €8.4 billion in revenue for Orange in 2025, making it the group’s fastest-growing region

Orange used the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi to announce a major acceleration of its commitments across the continent, unveiling targets spanning youth skills, startup support, network infrastructure, renewable energy, and inclusive artificial intelligence.

The announcement was made on 12 May at the inaugural Africa Forward Summit–a joint Kenya-France event co-hosted by Presidents William Ruto and Emmanuel Macron, which brought together more than 2,000 delegates, including 30 heads of state and a broad cross-section of business leaders and entrepreneurs. Orange’s announcements were among a wave of corporate commitments made at the summit, where Macron unveiled €23 billion in total investment pledges across energy transition, agriculture, and AI.

Three Million Young People, 500 Startups

At the heart of Orange’s package is a commitment to train more than three million young Africans in the technologies of tomorrow by 2030–covering artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and digital entrepreneurship–through free, certified programmes. To deliver at that scale, the group will double its Orange Digital Centers network from 50 to 100 sites across Africa and the Middle East, backed by partnerships with 167 universities and global learning platforms including Coursera.

Beyond skills, Orange is targeting support for more than 500 new startups by 2030 across healthcare, agriculture, fintech, education, and e-commerce–building on the more than 400 it has already supported.

« The future of Africa will be shaped by its youth, its talents and its capacity to innovate, » said Christel Heydemann, Chief Executive Officer of Orange. « We are committed to supporting this ambition through long-term investments in skills, connectivity, entrepreneurship, and inclusive digital technologies across the continent. Africa’s digital future is being built today, and Orange is proud to be part of that story. »

Infrastructure and Solar Expansion

Orange also reaffirmed its investment in long-distance terrestrial networks and submarine cables to extend connectivity into the continent’s least-served areas. On the energy side, the group announced it will double the share of its sites running on solar, targeting 60% of its network, with the dual aim of cutting carbon emissions and strengthening infrastructure resilience.

AI in Local Languages via Max It

Orange plans to develop AI models in local African languages, integrated into its super app Max It–already used by 23 million active users. The goal is to make these tools widely accessible to African populations and not just English and French speakers.

Africa as the Growth Engine

Orange’s new commitment reflects Africa’s contribution to the group. Available across 17 African countries, Orange Money serves 47 million active users. Last year, the platform processed €196 billion in transactions in this region, underscoring the growing contribution of mobile financial services to Africa’s digital economy. 

Together, Africa and the Middle East generated €8.4 billion in revenue for Orange in 2025, out of a global revenue of €40.4 billion. The Africa-Middle East region is the French group’s fastest-growing region.