Orange Côte d’Ivoire has opened its Orange 5G Lab, devoted to digital professionals, start-ups and businesses.

According to the French telecommunications firm, the new collaborative space - which the company says is fully equipped and dedicated to practical 5G-focused applications - is a valuable resources for local businesses as the market anticipates 5G network roll-out nationally in 2023.

Orange 5G Lab Abidjan offers services and support to economic players devised with expert partners such as Huawei, Nokia or ZTE.

According to Orange, its 5G Lab system is built around two concepts: allowing economic players to discover new possibilities enabled by 5G, and the way it could positively impact their activities, and supporting businesses keen to experiment with 5G’s potential for their product or service.

This site will host a 5G demo space for different business sectors, conferences, training, co-working sessions, co-innovation and practical 5G application sessions.

Mamadou Bamba, CEO of Orange Côte d’Ivoire, said, “We recognise that 5G is a new opportunity for businesses eager to diversify, optimise or revitalise their activity. To support them, it is crucial that this space offers ready-to-use tools and allows the results of these experiments to be assessed in a practical fashion. This initiative reflects our historic commitment to digital inclusion. We aim to foster innovation and help create value within the local ecosystem.”

Jérôme Hénique, CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa (OMEA) explained: “Like the Orange Digital Centre opened last year, the Orange 5G Lab will allow faster adoption of this technology by local businesses. They will not only be able to benefit from the expertise and tools available here, in Abidjan, but they will also have access to feedback from more than 1,500 businesses and local authorities that have had access to an Orange 5G Lab worldwide - including 127 that have already been able to set up testing based around their own practical examples.”

Christel Heydemann, CEO of the Orange Group, adds: “As a leader in the telecommunications sector and a key player in technology innovation, the Orange Group welcomes this new Orange 5G Lab in West Africa. It confirms our local influence and commitment to encouraging digital uses requiring high-speed internet, notably for start-ups and businesses. Orange has already opened 15 Orange 5G Labs, including two in Africa, and it will continue to drive this initiative throughout the Group's footprint.”

The Lab’s unveiling took place on 20 September at the Deux Plateaux Smart Store (Cocody, Abidjan), and attended by Amadou Coulibaly, Minister of Communication and Digital Economy and Government spokesperson; along with Heydemann, Hénique and Bamba.