Oracle is set to become the first hyperscaler to establish public cloud regions in North Africa with its announcement of two new cloud regions in Morocco. These cloud regions, located in Casablanca and Settat, are designed to support the digital transformation of businesses, startups, universities, and investors across Morocco and the entire region.
This significant development was announced by the Ministry of Digital Transition and Administrative Reform, the Ministry of Investment, Convergence, and Policy Evaluation, the Moroccan Agency for Investment and Export Development (AMDIE), and Oracle. These new infrastructures will offer high-performance, secure cloud services to organizations throughout Africa, marking a pivotal moment in the region’s digital growth.
Ghita Mezzour, the Minister Delegate for Digital Transition and Administrative Reform, highlighted the impact of this move: “The launch of Oracle’s public cloud in Morocco will accelerate digital transformation across the region. This strategic expansion positions Morocco as a unique player in the area and enables even more dynamic growth and skill development opportunities.”
Minister Delegate for Investment, Convergence, and Policy Evaluation, Mohcine Jazouli, expressed strong support for Oracle’s investment: “We warmly welcome Oracle’s investment on Moroccan soil, which underscores a deep trust in the expertise and talent of Moroccan youth. This initiative emphasizes our commitment to promoting technological progress in our country. It also elevates Morocco’s status on the international digital stage, reinforcing our ambition to lead in the global digital economy.”
Richard Smith, Oracle’s Executive Vice President for Cloud & Tech in the EMEA region, added: “As one of Africa’s largest economies with strong commercial and cultural ties to West Africa, the Maghreb, and Europe, Morocco offers unique growth opportunities for companies looking to expand using the latest digital technologies. The upcoming Oracle Cloud regions will provide new solutions to organizations, enhancing their resilience and enabling them to explore new markets for accelerated growth.”
With these new cloud regions, clients and partners will gain access to cloud services that allow them to maximize the value of their data. They will also benefit from redundancy and disaster recovery capabilities, improving business continuity and compliance with local data residency regulations. OCI’s AI capabilities will give businesses greater control over the location and management of their data and IT infrastructure.
This initiative builds on a previous partnership announced last May during a visit to San Francisco by Minister Ghita Mezzour and Oracle Group. They signed an agreement to launch a research and development (R&D) center in Morocco. This center is expected to create 1,000 high-value jobs for Moroccan engineers and researchers and contribute to the development of cloud solutions and AI technologies for Oracle’s global clients.
Oracle’s strategic investment in Morocco not only underscores the country’s growing importance in the digital world but also opens up new avenues for technological advancement and economic growth across North Africa.
