U.S. Tech Group Oracle to open two cloud regions in Morocco

A partnership agreement providing for the opening of two Oracle Cloud regions in Morocco was inked, Wednesday in Marrakech, between the U.S. technology group Oracle and the Moroccan ministry of Digital Transition and Administration Reform, the ministry of Investment, Convergence and Evaluation of Public Policies, and the Moroccan Agency for Investment and Export Development (AMDIE).

These large-scale infrastructures, announced on the sidelines of the opening of the 2nd edition of Gitex Africa Morocco, makes Oracle the first hyperscaler to establish public cloud regions in North Africa, thus supporting Moroccan government digital initiatives and stimulating innovation across the continent.

These new infrastructures, which represent a milestone in the region’s digital development, will help speed up the implementation of the Kingdom’s digital government initiatives, offering high performance and security cloud services to organizations across Africa.

The new public cloud regions, planned in Casablanca and Settat, show Oracle’s commitment to Africa.

They will support the digital transformation of companies, startups, universities and investors in Morocco and throughout the region.

Richard Smith, executive vice president of technology for Oracle’s Europe, Middle East, and Africa region, said that “as one of Africa’s largest economies and benefiting from strong commercial and cultural ties with West Africa, the Maghreb region and Europe, Morocco offers unique growth opportunities to companies wishing to accelerate their expansion by deploying the latest digital technologies.”

“The upcoming Oracle Cloud regions will offer new solutions for organizations to build up resilience and explore new markets to accelerate growth,” he underlined.

Through the planned cloud regions in Morocco, customers and partners will benefit from access to cloud services, allowing them to get better value from their data.

“The opening of Oracle’s public cloud regions in Morocco will accelerate digital transformation throughout the region. This strategic expansion, made by a hyperscaler like Oracle, positions Morocco as a unique player in the region, stimulates the development of skills and expands growth opportunities,” underlined, Minister in charge of Digital Transition and Administration Reform, Ghita Mezzour.

For his part, the Minister in charge of Investment, Convergence and Evaluation of Public Policies, Mohcine Jazouli, welcomed Oracle’s investment in Morocco, which reflects the “strong confidence in the expertise and skills of Moroccan youth”, and highlights “our commitment to promoting technological progress in our country”.

He pointed out that this initiative “also positions Morocco as a key player on the international digital landscape, thus strengthening our ambition to become a leader in the global digital economy.”

In May, an agreement was signed in San Francisco by the Ministry in charge of Digital Transition and Oracle, enabling the U.S. tech group to expand its research and development (R&D) capabilities in Morocco by growing its local workforce to 1,000 information technology (IT) professionals.

This investment will accelerate the development of Oracle’s cutting-edge technologies that help solve customer challenges worldwide.