NVIDIA has identified Morocco as a strategic priority for its African expansion, following its landmark June launch of the continent’s first AI factory in South Africa. A company delegation recently visited Rabat to meet key economic stakeholders—a signal of Morocco’s rising attractiveness in the global race for artificial intelligence infrastructure.
NVIDIA’s Africa strategy accelerated earlier this year through its partnership with Cassava Technologies, controlled by billionaire Strive Masiyiwa. The collaboration established an AI factory in South Africa and positioned Cassava—active in 26 countries with 4,000 clients and $906 million in 2023 revenue—as NVIDIA’s main regional partner.
According to official announcements, the tech giant plans to expand “to other data centers in Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, and Nigeria,” leveraging Cassava’s high-speed fiber network and sustainable data centers to deliver AI-as-a-service across the continent.
Morocco’s strategic advantages are central to NVIDIA’s interest. Abdelilah Kadili, president of the Tamkine Foundation, said the move shows that “Africa has become a space of major opportunities, particularly in artificial intelligence.” Analysts highlight Morocco’s proximity to Europe, supportive tax environment, and growing ambition to become a regional digital hub.
Hicham Kasraoui of BearingPoint noted that Morocco rapidly developed a national AI strategy built on wide ecosystem participation. Meanwhile, Redouane El Haloui, president of Apebi, stressed that becoming a tech hub requires not just hosting companies but building a strong ecosystem connecting global players to African markets.
IT expert Omar Benmoussa underscored the key enablers Morocco must accelerate to attract large-scale AI investments: expanding AI and HPC skills, strengthening cloud and digital infrastructure, and establishing an incentive-based regulatory environment to support advanced technology deployment.
With NVIDIA’s growing focus on the continent, Morocco is emerging as one of the next major nodes in Africa’s AI infrastructure map.
