12/08/24 17:30
Orange Belgium is here to accelerate diversity in tech
20 diverse futures entrepreneurs are embarking on ‘BuD-IT’ (Building Diversity in Tech), a 12-month program supporting diverse team entrepreneurship in Belgium by providing a No-Code training as well as entrepreneurial support to launch a start-up. The program is the result of an alliance between Orange, BeCode, and Start it @KBC.
While studies have shown that diversity is a key factor in collaboration and innovation within companies, there is a lack of diversity in the technology entrepreneurial landscape. Yet diverse teams are more resilient, more innovative, more creative and more successful. That is why Orange, BeCode and Start it @KBC have joined forces to create BuD-IT, the first Belgian ‘No-Code’ start-up program.
The objective of BuD-IT is to support the creation of entrepreneurial teams that are diverse in age, gender, background and origins. This program, as innovative as it is inclusive, aims to transform the Belgian technological landscape by promoting diversity and inclusion, while providing concrete opportunities for development and employment.
Participants will:
• develop tech skills through No-Code* thanks to BeCode’s new 6-week Starter Sprint financed by the Orange Foundation
• receive coaching and personalized mentorship thanks to Start it @KBC support
• connect to commercial and funding opportunities thanks to the Orange Fab start-up accelerator program
• connect to other actors of the ecosystem
From idea to start-up in 12 months
In the spring of this year, people with varying socio-economic backgrounds applied for the free BeCode 6-week Starter Sprint which starts now. Over the course of six weeks, 20 selected participants (50% female, 11 different nationalities) will attend on-site classes to learn No-Code tools to build software, sell services, launch products or develop a technological idea, all without writing a single line of code. On top of this, 75 more people will get the chance to access the No-Code contents and exercises by the end of this year.
The No-Code classes are just the first step of the journey for the 20 participants in the BuD-IT program. On 9 and 10 October, they will be invited to pitch their project to the Start it @KBC jury. Those selected will continue to develop the foundations of their business and benefit from the support of business coaches to grow their project.
In April 2025, after 6 months of support from Start it @KBC, the entrepreneurial teams will be able to join Orange Fab, Orange's start-up accelerator. There, they will commercially develop their project thanks to the strength of the Orange ecosystem as well as the company's many experts. The participants will also be invited to prototype their solutions at the FabLab of the Orange Digital Center located at BeCentral and to iterate with the coaches until September 2025.
Isabelle Vanden Eede, Chief Brand, Communication & ESG Officer at Orange Belgium: “Orange is dedicated to bridging the digital gap and creating a more inclusive and representative tech entrepreneurial landscape. We are therefore very happy to welcome these young entrepreneurial minds to our new BuD-IT program. Together with our partners BeCode and Start it@KBC, Orange is here to give them the keys and necessary skills to enter the job market and pursue their business dreams.”
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* No-Code democratizes entrepreneurship by reducing the technical and financial barriers that often discourage underrepresented individuals from pursuing their business dreams. It also enables entrepreneurs to quickly test and validate their ideas, allowing them to iterate and refine their products based on customer feedback and market insights.