Ooredoo Group has finalized a landmark QAR 2 billion financing deal, the largest tech-sector transaction in Qatar’s history, aimed at enhancing its data centers and boosting its AI operations. The 10-year hybrid financing arrangement, facilitated by QNB, Doha Bank, and Masraf Al Rayan, was announced in an exchange filing on Wednesday.
The funds are earmarked for separating the data center assets from Ooredoo’s telecom operations, with a substantial portion allocated towards increasing capacity and modernizing infrastructure. This expansion is designed to meet the burgeoning demand for AI, cloud services, and hyperconnectivity in the MENA region.
“The MENA region presents one of the fastest-growing markets for data centers globally, with vast potential in AI and cloud services,” said a representative from Ooredoo Group. “This financing is a pivotal step in our strategic initiative to scale our data center and AI business.”
In its ongoing commitment to sustainable growth, Ooredoo’s Data Centre company, which offers colocation services to hyperscalers and enterprises, plans to increase its capacity to over 120 megawatts through a projected investment of USD 1 billion in the coming years.
Currently, Ooredoo operates 26 data centers across several countries including Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Iraq, and Tunisia. Plans are underway to develop a new generation of sustainable, energy-efficient data centers designed to handle IT workloads for a variety of clients such as governments, hyperscalers, enterprises, and startups, thereby facilitating wider AI adoption in the region.
Adding to its strategic developments, earlier this year, Ooredoo Group initiated a collaboration with Nvidia to harness Nvidia’s computing platform for deploying AI-driven solutions throughout the MENA region and to offer sovereign cloud solutions to governments and enterprises.
Ooredoo continues to expand its global footprint, operating across the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia.
