In our effort to amplify the awareness about connectivity in Africa, TechAfrica News recently hosted a panel discussion – Africa’s connectivity gap: Extending connectivity across Africa to unlock growth and opportunities. This panel discussion saw industry leaders from Orange, SES, and RCS Communication come together to discuss the past, present, and upcoming advances and shortcomings of digital connectivity in Africa.
In the course of the panel, we were joined by Pierre Paufique, the Director of the Africa, Backbone program at Orange to help us get a better insight into Orange’s solutions to combat the connectivity gap in Africa. Pierre touched upon the challenges Orange has seen in its efforts to increase connectivity in Africa; these problems broadly include the coverage of cellular or broadband network, the affordability of devices, and the generation of sufficient power for seamless connectivity.
Pierre further went into explaining how Orange has been examining these challenges and how to overcome them. Here are some of the key developments by Orange mentioned throughout the panel discussion:
- Enabling Solutions for Power Generation
One of the major focuses of Orange’s technical solutions in Africa is enabling better and more efficient powering solutions. Solar Panels and various other technologies have been deployed in many areas to ensure that power is something to never worry about. Pierre pointed out that it is not a competition but rather a cooperation which is more important here.
- Enabling Affordable Devices and Services
Through their years of operating in Africa, Orange has enabled affordable products and services to enable seamless connectivity to a larger African population. Amongst their many efforts, one of the most significant achievements is releasing a $30 smartphone with 4G capabilities.
- Enabling Trans-national Connectivity
In its pursuit to establish a digital ecosystem that keeps up with the rising demand for connectivity in Africa, Orange established the Djoliba project. Pierre stated that this pan-African fiber-optic network was launched in late 2020 and it enables better access to connectivity to operators and companies.
- Enabling Digital Literacy
In their years of operation in Africa, Orange recognized the lack of digital literacy in Africa and strived to create solutions to enable the same for the population. The Orange Foundation has continuously worked with local authorities and come up with various empowerment programs to enable increased digital literacy.
Following an in-depth discussion about the challenges related to connectivity in Africa, Pierre explained the extent of the solutions and initiatives taken up by Orange to combat the connectivity gap with an optimistic view towards the future.
The entire panel discussion is now live and available on-demand. Just follow the link below:
