This three-year project is co-funded by the EU’s “Innovation for Enterprise Growth and Jobs” program

Aqaba:– The European Union (EU) and Orange Jordan inaugurated on Wednesday the Orange Digital Village in Aqaba, and the Women Digital Center at Princess Basma Center for Human Development, as part of “Innovation Space”, marking a continuation of the EU and Orange’s joint efforts to support youth in digital and entrepreneurial fields. This three-year project is co-funded by the EU’s “Innovation for Enterprise Growth and Jobs” program.

The event was attended by the Minister of Digital Economy and Entrepreneurship, H.E. Ahmad Hanandeh, EU Ambassador to Jordan, H.E. Maria Hadjitheodosiou, Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority Chief Commissioner, H.E. Nayef A. Bakheet, Governor of Aqaba, H.E. Mohammad Al Rafaiah, Aqaba Representative, Obaid Yassin, Aqaba Development Corporation CEO, Hussein Safadi, Aqaba Special Economic Zone Commissioner of Youth & Entrepreneurship, Ramzy AlKabarity, President of the University of Jordan Aqaba Branch, Professor Dr. Amer Salman, and CEO of Orange Jordan, Thierry Marigny, in addition to media representatives.

Moving forward towards achieving the EU and Orange Jordan's common goals of "training for employment", the digital village in Aqaba comprises a coding academy that provides training in programming languages and personal skills required in the labor market for seven months, including a one-month internship.

The newly inaugurated village also includes a Fabrication Lab (FabLab) that offers training in the latest machines, tools, and programs in this field, such as laser cutting, CNC, and 3D printers, to create prototypes that will grow into entrepreneurial projects.

In the context of the “Innovation Space” project in Aqaba, the EU and Orange Jordan also inaugurated a Women Digital Center at Princess Basma Center for Human Development in partnership with the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD), attended by PMO Director at the Fund, Dina Alaeddin. The Center is an extension of the successful program, which includes 8 centers in seven governorates, implemented by Orange Foundation and JOHUD to empower women with managerial, digital, and marketing skills needed to support their projects.

The expansion of Orange digital programs in Aqaba will empower more youth, as it is expected to reach around 1000 beneficiaries/certificates, as it will cater not only to Aqaba, but also the surrounding villages and nearby southern cities.

Additionally, Orange Jordan and the EU launched an incubator and startup accelerator to support entrepreneurs in Aqaba and enable them to scale up.

EU Ambassador H.E. Maria Hadjitheodosiou stressed the importance of mainstreaming digital entrepreneurship and innovation culture across the Kingdom, which are key to creating employment opportunities for Jordanian youth. “The core of the “Innovation Space” project is about increasing the opportunities for employment, creating local value and enhancing the capacity of small and medium enterprises and entrepreneurs to innovate. Reaching out to youth, students and entrepreneurs all across the country in order to enhance their digital skills is an essential element of this project.”

CEO of Orange Jordan, Thierry Marigny, expressed his excitement about the extended digital programs at the Orange Digital Village in Aqaba and the new digital centers executed in partnership with JOHUD, as they will offer youth in the southern governorates the opportunity to benefit from free digital programs in the most in-demand skills in the labor market, as well as the support provided to launching and growing startups.

Marigny said that this step aims to enhance innovation culture on a larger scale in Jordan and enable more beneficiaries, noting that the “Innovation Space” project seeks to increase the number of beneficiaries to more than 20,000 in 29 locations across the Kingdom.

He also noted that these projects fall under Orange Jordan's comprehensive social responsibility strategy, and its role as a responsible digital leader, seeking to curb the unemployment rate, and increase employment opportunities for youth across the Kingdom, while supporting entrepreneurial and ambitious projects that will drive economic growth.

The “Innovation Space” project supports the expansion of Orange’s digital programs to include 9 Community Digital Centers, in addition to 5 new coding academies, 5 FabLabs, 8 startups accelerators and incubators, in addition to an “Innovation Hub” at the Orange Digital Village in Amman.

The EU-funded "Innovation Space" is a pioneering initiative in Jordan and a one-stop shop for digital innovation and entrepreneurial support. It introduces digital culture, fosters digital skills, especially among women and youth, and promotes and nurtures entrepreneurship by identifying key opportunities for digital economic growth.

The 'Innovation for Enterprise Growth & Jobs' (Innovate Jordan) is a EUR 20 million programme, funded by the European Union in Jordan. The programme’s overall objective is to support private sector-led innovation that could drive inclusive economic development and promote systematic change in the local enterprise and innovation ecosystem in Jordan. The Programme will be implemented until 2024, through three grants. The First Grant action, ‘Scale-Up Roadmap for Growing Enterprises’ (SURGE), is implemented by a consortium led by Endeavor Jordan in partnership with BeyondCapital and Oasis500. The Second Grant action, ‘Jordan Industry 4.0 & Digitalization Innovation Centre’, (InJo4.0) is implemented by a consortium led By SAM Engineering & Trade Co. in partnership with Amman Chamber of Industry, and Transition Technologies - Advanced Solutions. The Third Grant action, “Innovation Space,” is implemented by Orange Jordan.

Orange Jordan is the Kingdom’s digital leader and one of the subsidiaries of Orange Global Group, featuring the best networks and innovative digital solutions, with a broad the lineup of fixed, mobile, internet, data, and Smart Life Solutions, with more than 1500 dedicated employees are dedicated to meeting the expectations of a total the base of about 4,3 million customers across the Kingdom.

Orange Jordan offers a wide range of communication services not only to individuals but also to businesses under the brand Orange Business Services (OBS).

The company takes pride in seven core values: transparency, agility, results-oriented, customer centricity, collaboration, caring, and excellence.

Through its comprehensive corporate social responsibility strategy, Orange Jordan continues to make a sustainable impact on the lives of Jordanians stemming from its societal role and its leading position by executing various free digital programs to empower Jordanians and enhance digital inclusion to affect the socio-economic development by focusing on 3-main pillars: digital education, digital inclusion, and entrepreneurship.

To learn more about us, please visit our website: www.orange.jo

Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with sales of 42.5 billion euros in 2021 and 140,000 employees worldwide at 31 December 2021, including 78,000 employees in France. The Group has a total customer base of 271 million customers worldwide at 31 December 2021, including 224 million mobile customers and 23 million fixed broadband customers. The Group is present in 26 countries. Orange is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies under the brand Orange Business Services. In December 2019, the Group presented its new "Engage 2025" strategic plan, which, guided by social and environmental accountability, aims to reinvent its operator model. While accelerating in growth areas and placing data and AI at the heart of its innovation model, the Group will be an attractive and responsible employer, adapted to emerging professions.

Orange is listed on Euronext Paris (symbol ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol ORAN).

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