ALB Article
Published by: Andrew Mizner
The choice of Morocco for its new Middle East and Africa headquarters reflects Orange’s high hopes for the African market.
French telecommunications giant Orange has opened its new headquarters for the Middle East and Africa in Casablanca, Morocco.
The office, based in the Casablanca Finance City Tower reflects the fact that the Middle East and Africa is the region demonstrating the fastest growth across the entire Orange growth, at 6%, which has earned it greater autonomy within the company.
Orange is active in 18 countries across the Middle East and Africa region, with 125 million customers and sales revenue of EUR 5.2 billion as of October 2018.
The telecoms corporation has 18,000 employees in the region and is investing a reported EUR 1 billion in connectivity and network performance.
The company said in a statement that the office leadership hoped for “a strong local foothold, which is essential to finding relevant responses that meet the needs of the African people”.
Orange’s chief executive for the Middle East and Africa, Alioune Ndiaye, stated that the establishment of the headquarters “sends a highly symbolic message, a turning point in the history of the group that provides further proof of our desire to be even closer to our customers and to make Orange MEA the preferred multi-services operator for people in Africa and the Middle East”.
Stéphane Richard, chairman and chief executive of Orange expressed the company’s pride in its “strategic choice, 20 years ago, to seek to develop in Africa and the Middle East”.
He explained: “We have always been convinced of the immense potential of this continent. In many ways, it can be seen as a model for digital transformation; mobile money is a great example of this. One of the key success factors behind new services is to develop them in Africa so that they are adapted to specific local requirements and so meet the needs of our customers.”
Richard and Ndiaye attended the launch with members of the company’s executive committee and Moroccan officials.
Orange said it would increase its investment in diversified services, until they make up 20% of its offering by 2025.
The company invested in a South African fintech company in 2018, the same year that it paired up with MTN on a mobile payment product.
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