Digital services are a key enabler for today’s social and economic development. Orange is a key player in this progress by providing telecoms infrastructure in more than 220 countries and territories around the world, by designing inclusive connectivity solutions, and also by creating direct and indirect jobs through our business activities. We’re committed to bringing the benefits of digital to as many people as possible in a sustainable and responsible way. We firmly believe that technology should empower everyone – as individuals, businesses, communities and administrations – to make the most of it.
Digital technology is a powerful engine of economic and social development provided that it empowers people to act.
In just three decades, digital technology has forever transformed the way we communicate, create and work. By providing innovative solutions to some of the major societal challenges of our century, and by facilitating access for millions of people to health, information, education, employment and entrepreneurship, it has quickly become a powerful lever for development worldwide.
At Orange, we believe that digital tools offer great opportunities for economic and social progress, provided that everyone can access and use them. The benefits of technology must be put into the hands of as many people as possible so that they’re empowered to create value for themselves and their communities.
As a leading technology provider, our mission is to actively contribute to the socio-economic development of our operating countries, and also to encourage and enable everyone to create sustainable value through an efficient and responsible innovation model.
Through our commitments, we are promoting a model of sustainable and responsible development so that, in the future, digital technology will continue to enable progress for people, society and the planet.
Find out more: Orange’s socio-economic development
We support the entrepreneurs who share our values.
Digital is creating opportunities for anyone who wants to make the most of them. At Orange, we support start-ups because we think that entrepreneurship and the local ecosystem are essential for enabling progress.
At the VivaTechnology show, an event Orange has participated in every year since its launch, we are sharing our booth with the start-ups we support. By helping them thrive, these entrepreneurs go on to create value for themselves and their regions.
With just days to go before the start of the 4th VivaTechnology, 5 start-ups are busy preparing for this event.
Our networks create value in all our regions worldwide
Orange is committed to deploying high-performing networks in all our regions worldwide. First 4G and now 5G, which is being tested in 17 French cities. By connecting people across the world, our networks provide a great opportunity for value creation.
Find out more: The foundation for the digital revolution
5G marks the next major evolution of mobile phone networks, designed to support new services in an increasingly connected world. Here’s your chance to understand more.
Everything will soon be ready for the first commercial launch of 5G in France. On a technical level, Orange is already conducting pilots in several cities, and these will intensify in the second half of the year. In parallel, by the summer of 2019, the French regulatory authority will publish full timescales and allocate frequency bands that will form the basis for future 5G developments. The first commercial offers should therefore see the light of day from 2020.
We create digital solutions that are accessible to everyone
Because digital technology creates opportunities for those who seize it, it can also cause exclusion. Indeed, a large proportion of the population still has no access to the internet and therefore can’t make the most of it. That’s why we use all our resources to make our solutions as accessible as possible.
across its 18 operating countries in Africa. Offering solutions that everyone can benefit from, including a low-cost smartphone that enables more equal access to the digital world. The 3G Sanza is a smart feature phone that’s unique in terms of its low price and high functionality.
Working to develop digital inclusion and responsible usess
… and help everyone use them
Read the Renaud Francou’s interview Digital inclusion : going beyond the clichés
Digital technology can be seen as an accelerator of the “power to act” in our society, allowing everyone to have a positive impact and contribute to daily life as an individual and within a collective.
For digital solutions to enable development, people have to know how to use them. At Orange, we help everyone to understand how to use the latest technologies. We help everyone to learn the right tools, regardless of their age or where they live. Teaching young people the basics, raising awareness among teens of the risks, helping people find jobs, and supporting professionals in their ways of working… Orange has set up many awareness and training initiatives across all of its operating countries.
Orange Foundation is developing digital education programmes: "Ecoles Numériques" (digital schools) for the most underprivileged children in Africa, "Ateliers Numériques" (digital workshops), "Digital Centres" for unskilled and unemployed women and "FabLabs Solidaires" for young school dropouts..
Discover Orange Solidarity FabLabs. The goal? Offer free training that breaks with traditional teaching methods for young people
The digital revolution is well underway in Africa and the Middle East, and Orange is helping to drive it. This revolution offers economic opportunities as it is a lever for inclusion. Thanks to Orange, millions of people now have access to banking services, and soon to energy, whereas previously they couldn’t take advantage of them.
Women in Africa: we are present at this year’s annual event
Women's entrepreneurship is one of the keys to Africa's socio-economic development. That’s why we actively support African start-ups, and especially those created by women. The Group also partners with the "Women in Africa" world summit, an annual event that promotes the initiatives and talents of women entrepreneurs on the continent and promotes discussion between women business leaders in Africa and around the world.
Find out more on startup.orange.com
Crowdsourcing, driving digital inclusion for women in Africa
Among the start-ups supported by the Group, isahit is leveraging digital transformation to help women in French- and English-speaking Africa acquire digital skills via its task outsourcing platform. Isabelle Mashola, co-founder of the start-up, explains how this participatory production means more digital inclusion across the continent.
We're also transforming work and businesses
Digital technology has permanently changed the way we work and do business. But it’s just the beginning. At Orange, we help our employees gain new skills and adopt more agile ways of working. We also support our customers in their transformation, to boost their business development.
We encourage the development of sustainable products and services
Today no company can ignore the challenges we face in terms of our climate or society. Orange is responding by developing more energy-efficient technologies, promoting recycling initiatives and supporting companies that promote ethical and sustainable solutions.
Ecodesign, a solution to protect the environment
Eco-designing a product means considering its environmental impact from the very first stages of its design. The aim is to reduce its footprint throughout its lifecycle, from extracting raw materials to managing its end of life and influencing customer uses. To do this, we measure and try to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, resource depletion, and water consumption, for example.
Ecodesign at Orange
By 2025, all Orange products will follow an eco-design approach.