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GITEX Africa 2024 – OVHcloud partners with Maroc Datacenter to fulfill its development ambitions in Africa with the opening of its first Local Zone in Morocco

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OVHcloud

The new Local Zone in Rabat offers Moroccan customers new opportunities to access the Group’s Public Cloud services, with reduced latency and local data hosting

ROUBAIX, France, May 30, 2024/APO Group/ — 

OVHcloud (www.OVHCloud.com/fr/), the European leader in cloud computing, will be taking part in GITEX AFRICA Morocco 2024 (www.GITEXAFRICA.com) in Marrakech. On this occasion, the Group is announcing the first opening of a Local Zone on the African continent, with operations scheduled to begin in Rabat in the coming months. This news demonstrates OVHcloud’s commitment in Africa to offer trusted cloud solutions.

Launch in Morocco: a key step in the deployment strategy of Local Zone in Africa

The announcement was made official with the signature of a partnership between Maroc Datacenter, a specialist in the construction and operation of data centers in Morocco, and OVHcloud. This strong partnership will also see Maroc Datacenter support OVHcloud to tailor its offerings on the Moroccan market. In addition, OVHcloud announces further deployments, including the opening of Local Zones in South Africa, Kenya and Tunisia for 2025.

“We are delighted to enter a partnership with OVHcloud Group, a global player and the European leader in the cloud. The launch of a Local Zone in Morocco will contribute to empower the kingdom digital ecosystem by offering innovative cloud platforms and provide public and private organisations with cloud services offering guarantees of data sovereignty and low latency. We are glad OVHcloud has chosen Morocco as the first country on the African continent to launch the Local Zone and has placed its trust in Maroc Datacenter. We would like to thank Orange Morocco for supporting us in this launch by providing its national and international connectivity capabilities.” says Abderrahmane Mounir, Chairman of Maroc Datacenter.

As part of its global growth plan in the Cloud market, OVHcloud aims to open up to 150 Local Zones by 2026. Based on innovative technology, Local Zones enable the Group to deploy infrastructures as close as possible to its customers, using Edge Computing principles, to serve new international locations in just a couple weeks. In addition to the Local Zones previously opened in Brussels, Madrid, Marseille, Prague, Amsterdam, Zurich and Dallas, the new Local Zone in Rabat offers Moroccan customers new opportunities to access the Group’s Public Cloud services, with reduced latency and local data hosting.

Thanks to this, Moroccan customers will benefit from the unique offering of OHVcloud for an open, trusted cloud, with data located as close as possible to the user. The data, hosted within the geographical limits defined by local regulations or security policies, allows customers to be confident: which proves essential for a number of industries, including consulting, financial services and healthcare.

From now on, companies and institutions will be able to take advantage of the Local Zones to rely on more secure, faster and more efficient services

Workloads with latency-sensitive services, such as real-time analytics, e-commerce websites, CDNs for streaming video and catch-up, and cloud gaming, will benefit from the Local Zone proximity for increased response times for a better user experience. For most customers, OVHcloud Local Zones offer single-digit millisecond latency times, enabling use cases such as high-performance gaming from the Cloud with very low latency.

‘Today’s launch of the first Local Zone in Rabat is an important milestone in OVHcloud’s relationship with Morocco and confirms the Group’s ambition to extend its offering to organisations operating in Africa. From now on, companies and institutions will be able to take advantage of the Local Zones to rely on more secure, faster and more efficient services, facilitating the digital transformation of the Moroccan ecosystem before moving on to serve new locations on the continent. Known as one of the main technology hubs in Africa, Morocco is a strategic market for us, with specific features needs and high requirements, particularly in terms of data sovereignty.’, said Caroline Comet-Fraigneau, Vice-President for France, Benelux, Africa and the Middle East at OVHcloud.

From the Local Zones, organisations can take advantage of Public Cloud features such as Compute, Block Storage and the network with a local public IP. Additional services will be offered in the coming months, including access to Object Storage and Managed Rancher Service for Kubernetes management, in multi-cloud environments.

OVHcloud’s new Local Zones are also ISO/IEC 27001 certified, in addition to the requirements of ISO/IEC 27017 standards, specific to the cloud services industry and ISO/IEC 27018 for the protection of personal data. These certifications ensure that businesses can deploy services in an OVHcloud environment to meet the highest security standards.

A dynamic community of customers and start-ups

With more than 6,000 customers already in Morocco, OVHcloud is strengthening its ties with the local ecosystem. The Group is also demonstrating its intention to accelerate its support to Moroccan start-ups (several dozen of which, such as Omniup and Digishare, are already part of the OVHcloud network- Startup.OVHCloud.com/). As a reminder, the OVHcloud Startup Program offers its members a wide range of commitments, including development advice, tailored technical support and no-obligation cloud credits to help them launch new projects and accelerate go-to-market timeline.

Availability

Available this summer, the Rabat Local Zone will enable Public Cloud services to be deployed directly from the OVHcloud customer interface.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of GITEX Africa.

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WARC reveals insights from the winners of the Cannes Creative Effectiveness Lions 2026

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15 minutes ago

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August 12, 2026

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Cannes Creative Effectiveness Lions 2026
Cultural insights, interactive experiences, strategic creator partnerships and platform-native ideas lead to commercial success
12 August 2026 – Strategically integrating cultural insights, interactive experiences, strategic creator partnerships, and platform-native ideas into campaigns are key drivers of commercial success, according to a new report by WARC, the global authority on marketing effectiveness.

‘Creative Effectiveness Lions – Insights from the 2026 winners’, identifies trends and themes common to the winners of this year’s Cannes Creative Effectiveness Lions awards category, which rewards creativity that has also met business goals and driven sustainable impact over time.

Based on WARC’s exclusive access to the jury deliberations and analysis of the entries, the report unearths insights into what makes a campaign both creative and effective, offers a behind-the-scenes view on the strategies that led to success, and provides takeaways for advertisers, agencies, media owners, people and planet.

Commenting on the report, John Bizzell, Content Lead, WARC, said: “This year’s winning Creative Effectiveness campaigns offer valuable insights for marketers, demonstrating how creative excellence can address genuine business and social issues while delivering meaningful growth.”

On the winners, jury president Bertille Toledano, CEO, BETC, Havas Creative Middle East and President of Havas Creative Network, commented: “The jury sought to award Lions to campaigns that delivered genuine impact on real people – the kind of campaigns you would discuss with your mother over lunch. We kept in mind the Creative Effectiveness Ladder to select the most effective creative work that embodied a cultural vision and a clear sense of what the brand stands for. These are the ones I’ll be telling my mother about.”

The three key themes of the Creative Effectiveness Lions 2026 winners are:

  • Rewrite cultural rules, don’t just reflect them

Cultural insight is a strategic business tool that helps brands actively focus on what connects people, and how to respond and innovate. Brands that move beyond surface-level understanding and instead use cultural analysis strategically can unlock new opportunities for growth, relevance and differentiation.

 

Brands should prioritize activation over observation, position themselves as cultural solutions, and focus on value exchange rather than transactional relationships.

Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix winner, Three Words for insurance brand AXA by Publicis France, transformed its home insurance offering to support victims of domestic violence in France by adding the clause ‘and domestic violence’ to its contracts, enabling emergency relocations for those in need.

Gold winner Pedigree’s Caramelo campaign by AlmapBBDO São Paulo, redefined the concept of ‘pedigree’ and increased the adoption of mixed-breed dogs in Brazil, particularly the culturally significant Caramelo, expanding its total addressable market.

  • Interactive experiences foster deeper brand involvement

Turning brand assets into interactive tools enables brands to deepen engagement, foster participation and create memorable moments for audiences.

Brands should embrace direct consumer participation utilising assets, leverage data to build credibility, and implement meaningful reward mechanisms to drive engagement.

Vaseline, the trusted skin healer’s silver-winning Vaseline Verified campaign by Ogilvy Singapore, engaged directly with creators to address misinformation about its product on social media to ensure safe usage among consumers.

Furniture retailer IKEA’s Hidden Tags silver campaign in Portugal by Uzina, Lisbon, encouraged customers to discover the hidden production dates on their products to build consumer trust and reinforce long-term brand commitment.

  • Strategic creator partnerships and platform-native ideas build brands

Creators are more than paid promoters; they can be authentic advocates who add real value. Platform-specific features earn community buy-in and mean reach continues when spend stops.

Brands should focus on integration rather than interruption, look beyond simple amplification, and meet audiences where they naturally engage.

Uber Easts, the food delivery platform’s silver-winning campaign Football is for Food, by Special US, transformed its NFL sponsorship into a purchase opportunity by embedding itself into the sport, linking football with food.

Bronze-winning campaign ‘U Up?’ by Rethink Canada for IKEA leveraged multiple touchpoints to create unexpected brand interactions into points of purchase for mattresses by turning consumer insomnia into immediate conversation.

WARC’s John Bizzell added: “This year’s jury talked a lot about context, from sourcing to metrics and culture. The jury wanted to see work that included well-sourced, credible data and metrics on what was the business impact. They also wanted to see cultural context – on an international jury, not everyone may understand why an insight is so important for a brand or category. Entrants should bear these factors in mind for next year.”

The full report is available to WARC Strategy subscribers. An upcoming WARC Podcast available from 20 August will discuss the findings.

 

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Energy

ExxonMobil’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) Breakthrough Signals New Era of Digital Exploration in Guyana Ahead of Caribbean Energy Week (CEW) 2027

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2 hours ago

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August 12, 2026

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Etu Energias

As artificial intelligence transforms upstream decision-making, Guyana’s energy sector continues to attract investment and innovation ahead of the Caribbean Energy Week 2027 In-Country Launch in Georgetown on 1 September 2026

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, August 12, 2026/APO Group/ –ExxonMobil’s announcement that artificial intelligence has identified four new exploration opportunities within Guyana’s prolific Stabroek Block marks a significant milestone in the country’s digital transformation. By applying AI to historical discoveries, drilling results and subsurface data, the company is demonstrating how advanced analytics, machine learning, high-performance computing and next-generation seismic imaging can accelerate exploration, reduce costs and improve discovery success rates.

 

The breakthrough comes as Guyana targets crude oil production of 1.3 million barrels per day by 2027 and 1.7 million barrels per day by 2030, underscoring the growing role of digital technologies in maximizing resource development alongside continued investment in drilling and infrastructure.

Against this backdrop, the Caribbean Energy Week (CEW) 2027 Guyana In-Country Launch, taking place on 1 September 2026 at the Guyana Marriott Hotel in Georgetown, will bring together operators, technology providers, geoscience companies, investors and regulators to examine the latest developments shaping Guyana’s energy sector and build momentum ahead of CEW 2027 next July. Returning for its second edition, CEW provides a premier platform for advancing investment, showcasing new projects and highlighting the technologies driving the country’s next phase of upstream growth.

Momentum behind AI adoption continues to build. In May 2026, ExxonMobil Vice President of Exploration John Ardill confirmed the company was expanding its use of deep learning, machine learning and high-performance computing to analyze seismic data and identify hydrocarbon-bearing prospects that were previously more difficult to evaluate.

The company is simultaneously advancing an ambitious offshore drilling program. This month, ExxonMobil commenced new drilling activities in Guyana’s Exclusive Economic Zone, including the Whiptail development well and Rockhead-1 exploration well. Earlier this year, the company also sought environmental authorization for the Haimara gas-condensate development and has proposed a 35-well drilling campaign between 2028 and 2033, reinforcing confidence in Guyana’s long-term exploration potential.

These developments are creating growing opportunities for AI developers, digital technology providers, seismic specialists, engineering firms and oilfield service companies that can support increasingly data-driven exploration and field development activities.

As the first official milestone on the road to Caribbean Energy Week 2027, the Georgetown launch will provide a platform for industry leaders to examine the technologies, partnerships and investment strategies driving Guyana’s next phase of growth while strengthening collaboration across the Caribbean energy sector.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

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Business

SOKOYO Advances Global Solar Street Lighting Capabilities

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3 hours ago

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August 12, 2026

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SOKOYO

BEIJING, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 12 August 2026 – SOKOYO, a top manufacturer of solar street lights, has installed 252 sets of lighting units in QatarEnergy’s solar power project in Ras Laffan and Masaieed in Qatar.

Installation of SOKOYO’s split solar street lights for the project being built by Samsung C&T Corp. was completed in July. The arrangement of solar panels was customized at the customer’s request for ease of maintenance.

“SOKOYO provided us with a specially customized solution for our power station,” said Ms. Kathy, senior procurement manager for Samsung. “The entire solar street lighting system consistently met our expectations for brightness, battery life and overall reliability.”

SOKOYO, founded in 2008, has manufactured more than 1 million lighting units installed in a wide range of settings across SoutheastAsia, Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia.

The company manufactures its own LED modules, solar panels, batteries, light housings and light poles. They have third-party certification for European Union and other safety and reliability standards, which qualifies them for export to global markets.

SOKOYO is regularly appointed to bodies that establish national and industry standards.

SOKOYO’s product line includes all-in-one solar street lights, all-in-two solar street lights and split-type solar street lights. They can be controlled remotely with IoT technology to improve safety and efficiency. Using solar power makes them immune to disruptions in supplies of oil and gas.

As the industry evolves to focus on “system-level R&D,” SOKOYO is reducing customer costs by enhancing reliability and resistance to heat and cold. To improve efficiency, it is developing smart lighting and IoT applications. It is promoting modular production, intelligent manufacturing and standardized process management.

The research team has seven engineers, some with more than two decades of industry experience. They develop technology for a wide range of environments and customer needs.

SOKOYO has experience in markets including Thailand, thePhilippines, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. It has developed technology to cope with heat, humidity, sandstorms and low light during extended rains, a challenge in central Africa and other areas.

In Uganda, SOKOYO supplied 1,000 light sets to help improve safety on a busy expressway between the capital, Kampala, and the eastern industrial center of Jinja. They provide the first nighttime lighting on a 22-kilometer section of road crowded with trucks, buses and motorcycles.

In Yemen and the United Arab Emirates, SOKOYO lights use LED modules developed to cope with heat, sun and sand.

The company supplied more than 2,000 light units to Saudi Arabia’s planned high-tech city of NEOM as part of the Saudi 2030 Vision plan.

Customers can use SOKOYO’s test facilities to try out different light configurations. Lights can be tested on roads of up to four lanes in an1,100-square-meter darkroom. Designers and urban planners can ensure light is distributed effectively, eliminating dark areas on the road and improving safety.

Batteries are tested to confirm they resist crushing, heat and cold, vibration, overcharging or being dropped. LED modules are drenched in salt spray for up to 72 hours to make sure they resist corrosion.

SOKOYO has been chosen for bodies that formulated eight national and industry standards including the “General Technical Specification for Solar Photovoltaic Lighting Devices” in 2025 with definitions and standards for split-type and integrated solar devices.

SOKOYO products have third-party certification that they meet standards of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and other bodies.Its batteries meet the requirements of the CB scheme under the IEC, recognized in more than 50 countries. Tests confirm they withstand overcharging, high temperature, vibration, impact and short circuit.

The company’s solar panels received IEC certification that they meet standards for electric shock protection, temperature changes, damp, heat, humidity, hail impact and other factors.

SOKOYO participates in efforts to improve the industry’s reputation by promoting “zero false labeling” and reliable products that refuse to cut corners.

SOKOYO pays attention to the environment. Its products are designed to minimize light pollution and limit disruption for wildlife, stargazers and the public.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

 

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