By Janet A. Sesay
Orange Mobile Company Sierra Leone through its Digital Center is currently training children, students and disable youths in Innovative technology and digital inclusion.
The Orange Digital Center serves as a support and development oriental outfit for everyone to gain digital and entrepreneurial skills, which include training and coaching in coding for small business covering a wide range of business activities. The Center is free and open to the general public aimed at promoting learning based on concrete projects.
The Orange Sierra Leone Digital Center is the first technological ecosystem in Sierra Leone that is offering free training for young entrepreneurs in new technologies and supporting their digital inclusion.
The Minister of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs, Melrose Karminty visited the Orange Sierra Leone Digital Center at the company’s head office at Hill Station on Wednesday, 13th August, 2025 and was taken on a conducted tour of the facility.
The tour was facilitated by the Chief Executive Officer of Orange Sierra Leone, Sekon Amadou Bah accompanied by Annie Wonnie Katta, Director of the Orange Foundation, Brima Abdulai Sheriff- Commissioner of the National Commission for Person’s with Disability and staff of Orange Sierra Leone.
The first point of call was hall where disable students were undergoing training in digital excellence.
Minister Kaminty in her statement during the conducted tour described Orange Mobile Company as leader in the digital inclusion drive which is part of the Big Five Changers of the agenda of the President.
She indicated that digital inclusivity is one of the windows Government is driving through to ensure digital literacy and commended Orange Mobile Company Sierra Leone for actually taking the lead in that aspect.
Minister Karminty maintained that Orange Mobile Company Sierra Leone is demonstrated clear vision in its strategy to propagate digital literacy and commended the strategy the company has adopted so far in popularizing the need among youth entrepreneurs, noting that the strategy clearly manifests the company’s commitment to inclusivity.
She on behalf of the President and People of Sierra Leone and in particular disable people, thanked Orange Mobile Company Sierra Leone for establishing the Digital Center and assured the company her Ministry’s support in the furtherance of the aim and objectives of the Orange Digital Center.
Minister Karminty in her encouragement of the disable trainees stated that disability is not inability and encouraged the trainees to be focused and studious in their training to capacitate them participate in the digital transformation of the country’s economy, pointing out that as a Government they are highly dependent on the transformation of the private sector through digital inclusion and pledged support to enhance the company’s aim to broaden its operational scope to benefit a wide range of Sierra Leoneans.
The Minister pointed out that young people really need to position within the digital space noting that the opportunity provided by Orange Mobile Company should be embraced and taken advantage of in order to enable them contribute positively to the country’s socioeconomic development.
The Chief Executive Officer of Orange Mobile Company Sierra Leone, Sekon Amadou Bah appreciated the visit of the Minister pointing out that the company’s decision to establish the Digital Center which spans across the various regions of the country, is for young entrepreneurs to take advantage of the opportunity to position themselves and their potential businesses with a global digital ecosystem for the smooth running of the economy. He disclosed that the company already has three Digital Centers and two Orange Digital Center Clubs that are well established in the regions.
Mr. Bah stated Orange Mobile Company is not only in Sierra Leone to do business, but to use its platform to collaborate with the Government of Sierra Leone in enhancing digital knowledge and entrepreneurship in the country with the aim of impacting positively on the business community across the country. He said the company’s inclusion policy is a deliberate strategy that has also been inculcated in the company’s service delivery mission.
CEO Bah went on to envision that Orange Mobile Company aims at providing a digital inclusion ecosystem that guarantees global discretion with a Road Map that takes onboard those in need and deploys such needy into the Centre to learn skills free of cost.
Commissioner Brima Abdulai Sheriff from the National Commission for Person’s with Disability revealed that he was beaten aback by what he saw at the Orange Digital Centre, describing the level of inclusion, fairness and transparency he saw at the Center as “exemplary and on point.”
“The level of inclusion exhibited at the Center epitomizes my singular stance of inclusion as a means of ensuring fairness and equity,” Commissioner Sheriff stated, disclosing that he has adopted “Inclusion” as his middle name because of his push for inclusivity in whatever he does in the public sphere.
Commissioner Sheriff emphasized that he does not favour the pitying of people with disability, rather, he seeks and advocates for their empowerment as an assurance for a dignified life. He praised Orange Mobile Company for the initiative to bring onboard people with disability as a way of giving them voice and a dignified life.
Annie Wonnie Katta, Director of Orange Foundation, said they decided on this digital intervention in order to help people that are interested in learning, noting that the appreciation they have received from communities across the country have been overwhelmingly positive.
Hassan Kanu, the Project Lead for Disability Issues at the Orange Foundation said they are deliberately helping disable people to learn skills like tailoring, gara-tie dying among others to make them independent and self-reliant through self-employment.
He thanked the Chief Executive Officer of Orange Mobile Sierra Leone for listening to the voices of disable people.
“The reality is, if the opportunity is available, disable people are willing and ready to take advantage of such an opportunity and they are ready to prove to society that they can do it,” Mr. Kanu affirmed.
Chocriluos Sheku Koroma of the Orange Advocacy and Empowerment Organization for Persons with Disability thanked Orange Mobile Sierra Leone for the training opportunity, pointing out that the Company has set a positive precedent for persons with disability to be active in the private sector through their empowered status.
He expressed satisfaction with the processes of the course, disclosing that as a result, the number of disable attendees is growing daily at the Center, and thanked Orange Mobile Sierra Leone for also through its inclusive policy, for employing persons with disability in their institution.
He reminded the Minister of the need for the implementation of Persons with Disability Act that will take into consideration tax reduction for businesses and institutions that employ persons with disability, and thanked the Management of Orange Mobile Company Sierra Leone through its Digital Center for the training opportunity accorded to people with disability. He assured that what the company is providing will not go in vain as those who have seized the opportunity will work towards making themselves useful in society.
The Minister was also taken to the Fab Lab Center where another set of students are taught digital designing including human object designing.
Tundea Feika, the Fab Lab Manager explained that students are trained in digital designing and the visualization of dimensional objects in designs.
Mr. Feika took the Minister through a symbolic designing process using digital engineering method.
The Minister was also taken to another training room involving male and female students learning digital innovation skills and she ended her tour with young children being introduced to computer and other forms of basic digital literacy. The Minister took time to take questions from the kids, all of which she heartily responded to making the children feel excited in meeting with a Minister of State. The tour was climaxed with the taking of exciting pictures especially with the kids who expressed appreciation to the Minister for the visit and to Orange Mobile Company for the opportunity accorded to them to be exposed to digital literacy at their young age.
The Minister thanked Orange Mobile Company for what she said was “a wonderful moment” as she directly felt what inclusion really means in to expand a digitally oriented economy.