Amman – Orange Middle East and Africa held an awards ceremony for the third edition of the Orange Global Summer Challenge this February, where three innovative startup companies developed by young entrepreneurs from Africa and the Middle East were crowned.

The challenge comes as one of the pioneering programs of the Orange Digital Center, as it represents a global competition organized annually to support young people’s talents and enable them to transform their ideas into technological solutions that have a sustainable social and environmental impact.

The program reflects Orange Jordan’s firm commitment to empowering young women and men, enhancing their digital skills, increasing their employment opportunities, and providing them with the experience required for the labor market through the Orange Digital Center (ODC) programs, including the Innovation Forum, the Digital Manufacturing Lab, the Programming School, and BIG by Orange, which contributed to providing specialized guidance and teamwork within a supportive environment, consolidating the company’s approach to supporting innovation and integrating entrepreneurial projects and the Jordanian economy.

In its 2025 edition, the program supported 369 innovative young women and men from 14 countries for a period of three months, under the guidance and supervision of the Orange Middle East and Africa work teams and the Orange Digital Center, to include training, guidance, and access to the required technological expertise. 56 startup projects were developed under the title Startup4Good, focusing on key sectors including environment, health, education, and agriculture, in partnership with Amazon Cloud Services (AWS), Meta, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Hashgraph Association, and Dar Blockchain.

This reflects the efforts of the Orange Group to raise the status of the Orange Digital Center as a comprehensive innovation platform. The Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Orange Middle East and Africa, Haidra Bin Sheikh, stated that for more than 16 years, the Orange Summer Challenge has been a real catalyst for talent and innovation. More than just a competition, the program enables young entrepreneurs to develop technology-based solutions, especially artificial intelligence, to address societal and environmental challenges in a tangible way. Through the Orange Digital Center, the company is committed to supporting youth and promoting high-impact innovation throughout the Middle East and Africa.

The SafeGuard project from Jordan won first place with a grant of 22,000 euros to enable its positive impact and continue to provide innovative solutions to society and the environment. This is due to the project’s provision of smart safety devices for work sites that allow direct monitoring and preparation of comprehensive reports on the team, which enhances occupational safety, effectively reduces risks, and makes work environments safer and more efficient.