After studying the rapidly developing telecommunications technology market on the African continent, the Dubai Investment Fund (DIF), an international asset management company, decided to invest in the information technology sector in North Africa.
According to telecommunications market experts, the fund seeks to invest in projects that offer governments, investors and operators the opportunity to solve important problems in the sector. Of most interest for investment are projects that will help accelerate the improvement of key services and increase competition to create a favorable environment for investment, increase productivity and growth, and improve people’s lives.
Based on the company’s investment history, we can assume that the Arab giant has long preferred to invest in the technology sector. Previously, many companies in the information technology sector had already been invested by DIF.
The company began investing in the information technology sector in 2006, buying shares in Google, Sony, Nvidia and Amazon and acquiring stakes in these companies. The following year, the company began investing in the corporate segment, and in 2007 it bought stock in Cisco, which is one of the largest manufacturers of networking and telecommunications equipment. That same year, the company expanded its presence in the cloud computing market by making investments in firms such as Salesforce, SAP and Adobe. These companies are experts in software creation, cloud services and other information technology-related products.
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In 2011, it made investments in Samsung and Tencent, buying stock in each of those companies; in 2015, it bought stock and made a stake in Facebook, Inc. In 2016 and 2017, the fund invested in shares of information technology companies. These companies included Qualcomm, Intuit, VMware and AutoDesk, among others. During the same time period, they invested additional money in publicly traded companies such as PayPal and Booking Holdings. It’s important to note the fact that the company has made recent financial commitments in the information technology sector, buying shares in Shopify, HP and Dell in 2020.
The company has made direct investments, in whole or in part, in a number of projects related to education, social work, green energy and artificial intelligence: the Education for All, Helping Hand and Technology for Learning projects in 2004, the FINEMI and GLANA Waterwise initiatives in 2005, and Skill Fuel and Kerne in 2015 and 2016. They also contributed to AI Lab projects in 2016, Clean Wind, Energys and The Next Shore in 2019 and 2020.
Separately, three people at the company appointed in 2008 are worth highlighting, as they are the ones who set the company’s investment course these days and can be assumed to be responsible for the company’s intentions to invest in the technology sector: Mohammed Basma – Head of Strategic Investment, Arthur McKinsey – Head of Digital Innovation and Technology, Jason Williams – CFO and Head of Finance at DIF.
By 2023, total spending in the information technology sector in the MENA region is projected to grow to $170.91 billion.
With the arrival of major telecom players in the region, African countries will undoubtedly receive a boost to further develop, strengthen their economies and increase their potential. Africa offers great opportunities for IT projects, cloud services and wireless carriers, thanks to its large market and large population. Consequently, companies have already shown interest in the region.