By Ibrahim Karim Bangura (Tanko)

Orange Sierra Leone, the best mobile  company in the country, has presented a rosy grand prizes valued over 300 million Old Leones to hard-working winners of Orange Social Venture Prize (OSVP) pitching platform across Sierra Leone.

The grand prize, a semiannual highlight of the working show, was grabbed by Abdul Karim Sesay.

22-year-old, Abdul, is a student and resident of Freetown, West of Sierra Leone who pitch on Emotions by Altruistech.

He received a cash prize worth Nle 200,000 and has expressed gratitude and thanks to the management of Orange SL for their impactful contributions on changing the lives youth over the years in Sierra Leone. The huge prize was received by the desire winners. On Friday 9th, August, 2024, the official handing ceremony of the monies was held at New Brookfields Hotel, Jumu Kenyatta Road in Freetown.

Speaking during the session, Sheku A Bah, Chief Executive Officer CEO, Orange Sierra Leone, extended his genuine respect to Abdul Karim Sesay and others on their wonderful win under Sierra Leone’s current financial and economic difficulties faced by the people.

CEO Bah pronounced the multitude opportunities available with the Orange initiative digital marketing enterpreurship.

Thus Orange Digital Center (ODC) network, he said, is driving digital inclusion for young people and entrepreneurs across Africa and the Middle East through its 16 centers, and therefore the initiative seeks  to provide young people in the region with key skills in essential areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, digital marketing, and entrepreneurship.

“At Orange, we firmly believe that digital inclusion is the key to creating a fairer and more prosperous future for everyone. In partnership with Coursera and through the Orange Digital Centers, we are opening the doors of certification training to all our beneficiaries, offering educational and professional development opportunities to those who need those most,” he said.

According to the CEO of Innovation Sierra Leone, Frances Stevens George, he said building an ecosystem of trust is Orange key goal, and that, he spoke of 20 years development of Orange Digital Centers which are physical structures designed to be hubs of innovation and learning, free and open to all, providing a dynamic environment where young people can develop their skills, explore new technologies, and stimulate their creativity.

In his statement, Minister of Youth, Mohamed Oman Bangura, emphasized that the job space are limited and young Sierra Leoneans must grab the Orange digital opportunity to make ends meet.

“These programs are designed to meet the needs of the ever-evolving job market, providing talented young people with the knowledge and skills they need to enter the job market, develop their careers, or encourage them to become digital entrepreneurs, ” he said.

Abdul Karim Seay who received the star prize (Nle 200,000) strongly guaranteed Orange SL that he would manage the money well.

“My pitch on Mental Health was apt, and the audiences were moved based on my fascinating presentation, the sky is my limit, as I determine to provide a dynamic environment where young people can develop their skills, explore new technologies,” he wished.

Orange has changed our unhappy level over the years to an interesting one associate initiative digital platform played a vital role in the technology industry as it moves the industry going forward.