Orange Jordan recently signed an agreement with the Hashemite University to launch an Orange FabLab at the university’s faculty of engineering soon, as part of “Innovation Space”, a three-year project co-funded by the EU’s “Innovation for Enterprise Growth and Jobs” program aiming to promote digital empowerment and innovation culture on a wider scale.

The new FabLab is an extension of the “Innovation Space” project that seeks to expand Orange’s free digital programs and give youth the opportunity to benefit from training in digital skills growing in demand to enhance their employability and support them in launching their own projects.

Under the agreement, the Orange FabLab at the Hashemite University will provide a comprehensive training in digital fabrication skills, tools, and machinery to enable joiners to create prototypes and benefit from 3D printing technologies, laser cutting and CNC machines in starting their innovative projects.

Orange Jordan affirmed its keenness to extend its free digital programs to cover the Kingdom at large, as the number of beneficiaries/certificates granted within the “Innovation Space” project reached 20,000, noting that it continues to expand the scope of the programs in partnership with the EU.

The Hashemite University FabLab is set to digitally empower youth for more employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, stemming from Orange Jordan’s role as a responsible digital leader and its belief in youth's active contribution to driving sustainable development, the company added.

For his part, the President of the Hashemite University, Prof. Dr. Fawaz Al-Abdel-Haq Al-Zboon, said that he highly values Orange Jordan’s continuous initiatives and is proud of the cooperation with company in establishing the Orange FabLab, which reinforces the efforts of the university and its faculty of engineering to enable students and graduates in terms of skills, as well as offer them an opportunity to benefit from this leading project in digital fabrication and innovation that prove vital to elevate their fourth industrial revolution skillset and increase their competitiveness in the local and global labor markets.

Al-Zboon also asserted the importance of the Hashemite University and Orange Jordan’s partnership as a model for national institutions seeking to enrich Jordan’s youth skills and drive growth in the national economy by providing human capital equipped to excel and compete, therefore increasing their opportunities in the labor market, enabling them to start their own projects and startups, and empowering them in their careers to enhance their contribution to socioeconomic progress, all in line with the university’s vision: “from the Hashemite University to the world.”

The EU-funded “Innovation Space” project supports the expansion of Orange Jordan’s digital programs to include 9 Community Digital Centers, 5 new coding academies, 5 FabLabs, 8 start-up accelerators and incubators, in addition to an “Innovation Hub” at the Orange Digital Village in Amman.

The program is a pioneering initiative in Jordan and a one-stop shop for digital innovation and entrepreneurial support. It introduces digital culture, fosters digital skills – especially among women and youth – and promotes and nurtures entrepreneurship by identifying key opportunities for digital economic growth.

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About Innovate Jordan programme:

The 'Innovation for Enterprise Growth & Jobs' (Innovate Jordan) is a EUR 20 million programme, funded by the European Union in Jordan. The programme’s overall objective is to support private sector-led innovation that could drive inclusive economic development and promote systematic change in the local enterprise and innovation ecosystem in Jordan. The Programme will be implemented until 2024, through three grants. The First Grant action, ‘Scale-Up Roadmap for Growing Enterprises’ (SURGE), is implemented by a consortium led by Endeavor Jordan in partnership with BeyondCapital and Oasis500. The Second Grant action, ‘Jordan Industry 4.0 & Digitalization Innovation Centre’, (InJo4.0) is implemented by a consortium led By SAM Engineering & Trade Co. in partnership with Amman Chamber of Industry, and Transition Technologies - Advanced Solutions. The Third Grant action, “Innovation Space,” is implemented by Orange Jordan.

About Orange Jordan

Orange Jordan is the Kingdom’s digital leader and one of the subsidiaries of Orange Global Group, featuring the best networks and innovative digital solutions, with a broad the lineup of fixed, mobile, internet, data, and Smart Life Solutions, with more than 1500 dedicated employees are dedicated to meeting the expectations of a total the base of about 4,3 million customers across the Kingdom.

Orange Jordan offers a wide range of communication services not only to individuals but also to businesses under the brand Orange Business Services (OBS).

The company takes pride in seven core values: transparency, agility, results-oriented, customer centricity, collaboration, caring, and excellence.

Through its comprehensive corporate social responsibility strategy, Orange Jordan continues to make a sustainable impact on the lives of Jordanians stemming from its societal role and its leading position by executing various free digital programs to empower Jordanians and enhance digital inclusion to affect the socio-economic development by focusing on 3-main pillars: digital education, digital inclusion, and entrepreneurship.

To learn more about us, please visit our website: www.orange.jo

About Orange

Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators with sales of 42.5 billion euros in 2021 and 140,000 employees worldwide at 31 December 2021, including 78,000 employees in France. The Group has a total customer base of 271 million customers worldwide at 31 December 2021, including 224 million mobile customers and 23 million fixed broadband customers. The Group is present in 26 countries. Orange is also a leading provider of global IT and telecommunication services to multinational companies under the brand Orange Business Services. In December 2019, the Group presented its new "Engage 2025" strategic plan, which, guided by social and environmental accountability, aims to reinvent its operator model. While accelerating in growth areas and placing data and AI at the heart of its innovation model, the Group will be an attractive and responsible employer, adapted to emerging professions.

Orange is listed on Euronext Paris (symbol ORA) and on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol ORAN).