The Orange group think big Morocco. The multi-service operator and digital transformation partner is banking on the Kingdom to support the development of new services in Africa and the Middle East. Indeed, if the group has been present in the region for more than 20 years, the Orange Middle East & Africa (OMEA) headquarters has been located in Casablanca since 2019. A choice which reflects the importance of the Kingdom for the ambitions of the group and its subsidiaries.
“With a presence in 18 countries, Orange Middle East & Africa has posted sustained growth for six consecutive quarters, with turnover up more than 10%. This performance is based on a strategy of local anchoring and diversification of activities because we are convinced of the place that Morocco can play in our development on the continent,” underlines Christel Heydemanngeneral manager of the group. And note that the group has 3,500 employees in Morocco, including almost a third for Orange Maroc. Indeed, the group is not limited to its local subsidiary, Orange Moroccowhich employs 1,300 people. The Kingdom plays a central role for the group, housing several key subsidiaries. Among them, Orange Cyberdefensespecialized in providing cybersecurity services and Orange Businesswhich provides connectivity and integration services for international clients. These two entities have more than 1,000 employees on two sites in Casablanca and Rabat.
The group also relies on Suffercomdedicated to engineering, and develops activities linked to international networks with more than 1,200 employees in the Kingdom. “We want to continue to develop our hubs. Morocco is one of our hubs of operations beyond housing the regional headquarters. For example, it is our radio engineering center based in Rabat which ensures that we have the right engineering and the latest technologies and provides support to the 18 countries where Orange is present in the region,” notes for his part. Jérôme Héniqueexecutive director, CEO of OMEA.
Orange Maroc, 5G ready
Orange Morocco positions itself as the challenger of the telecommunications market, according to its CEO, Henry Castle. “We have democratized the optical fiber in Morocco. We talked about it for three years. Today, the Kingdom wants to increase the number of households eligible for fiber as part of its Maroc Digital 2030 strategy to reach 5.6 million,” he said. Regarding the 5Gthe operator has invested enormously in the modernization of the network, which means that it is ready to deploy this technology from the point of view of antennas, the access network, etc. An important factor to support the national strategy which aims the introduction of this technology to reach 25% of the territory covered by 2026, and 70% in 2030, in anticipation of the World Cup. “We have the experience and know-how of major sporting events, of the connectivity of these major events like the African Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast and the Olympic Games in Paris. So, of course, we will do everything we can to support and propose solutions,” assures Christel Heydemann. The challenge is to offer all possible solutions to customers to meet their needs.
Orange Africa and Middle East Social Entrepreneur Prize: two Moroccan startups distinguished
The winners of the 14th edition of the Orange Prize for Social Entrepreneur Africa and Middle East were unveiled Tuesday in Casablanca in the presence of several personalities including Younes Sekkouri, Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business and Employment, and Saïd Ibrahimi, CEO of Casablanca Finance City Authority (CFCA). For the International Grand Prix which rewards the first three projects with social or environmental impact based on new technologies, the first prize was won by the Moroccan startup SAVEYwhich offers a digital and logistical solution to combat food waste. The second prize was awarded to the Tunisian startup WeFix operating in the management and recycling of electronic devices and household appliances, while third prize went to the Ivorian startup Cocoa Shield with its solution coupling artificial intelligence with IoT (Internet of Things) devices allowing the reporting and monitoring of cocoa crops. For the special prizes, the International Women’s Prize was won by the Moroccan startup MyTindyconnecting artisans with customers around the world, in order to sell their products, while the Coup de Cœur Prize recognized the Egyptian project Uploadwhich offers one of the most accurate multi-dialect Arabic speech-to-text transcription engines in the world.
