Orange Liberia, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), aimed at building a more inclusive, connected and empowered youthful generation of Liberia.
Accordingly, the signing ceremony marks the beginning of a shared journey that is rooted in a common vision, to accelerate digital transformation, unlock innovation and empower Liberia’s youth to lead and shape the country’s future.
Liberia stands at a pivotal point where its youthful generation represent the greatest source of national potential, full of creativity, ambition and determination.
But those potential requires opportunity, access to technology, skills, mentorship, financing and markets, as the signing ceremony marks both institutions collective response to those challenges.
Orange Liberia CFO, Hossen Fofana, who represented his boss at the signing ceremony recently in Monrovia, said the MOU symbolized their share ambition in making innovation a real driver of inclusive and sustainable growth in the country.
He said through the partnership, the two institutions are building a bridge between technology, education and development with one pure goal, which is to provide healthcare, empower women as well as vulnerable communities across the country.
He then reaffirms Orange commitment to digital inclusion by providing annual internet capacity support to young people, most especially rural women and vulnerable communities through investment.
“This partnership embodies our value, because at Orange, we care, we are bold and responsible, and this is key for us and the communities. We commit to transforming Liberia’s digital gap by ensuring that every woman and youth, as well as entrepreneur receive the needed knowledge and support to succeed,” he said.
UNDP Resident Representative, Aliou Mamadou Dia asserted that digital transformation is not only about technology, but people, dignity, inclusion, and ensuring that no one is left behind and offline as the world advances.
He said UNDP firmly believes that lasting development happens when the public and private sectors, as well as communities work together.
He noted that both institutions have commited to expending digital literacy and skills training, especially for young women and vulnerable communities.
According to him, the private sector, represented by Orange Liberia, plays a vital role in driving innovation and creating jobs, as the ceremony aligns directly with Liberia’s national development priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), particularly 4, 8, 9 and 17.
“Support entrepreneurship and innovation hubs that help startups growth and access new markets. Promote digital inclusion beyond Monrovia, by ensuring rural communities are not left behind. Strengthen Liberia’s position in the global digital economy, by fostering new livelihoods and new opportunities,” he said.
Accordingly, this alignment, policy frameworks, and partnership is about opportunity for a young woman to learn coding and get a tech job, an entrepreneur to scale a digital business, and a youth to innovate solutions for agriculture, climate resilience or commerce.
“We are proud to walk this path together. To the young people of Liberia, this partnership is for you, your ideas, imagination, and courage to innovation are the foundation of Liberia’s future. We are here to support you and to invest in your journey,” he said.
He then reiterated UNDP’s commitment to building a Liberia where every young person, regardless of gender, background or location, has the opportunity to thrive and contribute to national development.
At the same time, Orange Digital Center Manager (ODC), Zaza Mulbah said the ceremony is a roadmap of greater national impact, as it was birthed out of a strategic dialogue that began several months ago.
According to him, the signing marks a strategic alliance that clearly acknowledged that achieving national goals in the 21st century, requires powerful partnerships, and said collaboration is no exception.
“This partnership accelerates digital transformation, foster inclusive economic growth and it will significantly boost youth employment in alignment with our share vision,” he said.
“This MOU is anchored by three critical pillars of cooperation designed to deliver tangible impact across the country that include digital skills, entrepreneurship and innovation.”