On the occasion of its first roadshow in Africa on Wednesday, April 17, SAS announced a $ 1 billion investment in artificial intelligence that will allow the US giant to significantly expand its presence on the continent. This investment will be distributed in Africa mainly on the training of the human and the access of the local operators to its latest technologies related to artificial intelligence. The US giant SAS will invest in a global envelope of $ 1 billion in artificial intelligence. The information was brought to the attention of the African public this Wednesday, April 17 during a roadshow in Casablanca, Morocco. With this investment that will spread over three years, says the US group in a statement, it “intends to significantly expand its presence on the continent and its pioneering role, far ahead of its direct competitors.” Also in its statement, SAS said the funds will mainly be used to finance the training of human resources and the access of local operators to the “latest” technologies related to the artificial intelligence of the group.
This will enable the latter to contribute to the economic development of the African continent and especially to the transfer of skills. “This translates into investing in human resources with high technical added value, but also in training partners and customers, as well as in African youth with explosive potential,” says the group in its text adding that indeed, it “also invests in training and skills transfer, by setting up a partnership (the SAS Academy) with 10 universities in French-speaking Africa, including 5 in Morocco, to offer students free software and licenses the latest generation dedicated to artificial intelligence, to train the technical elite of tomorrow. ” Africa, a market of the future This important investment of SAS is explained by the fact that the company wants to bet on Africa as the market of the future. The specialist in artificial intelligence is physically present in Morocco and Africa more generally, with dedicated technical teams, the group has seen its turnover in the Africa zone grow at 10% per year. “This Africa region, and more specifically Morocco, is the one whose growth is for the fastest group in the world (data 2017).
The Africa zone contributes 20 to 30% of the annual growth of the group, and is constantly rising, “says the group’s press release. Proof that the African continent is an essential market. In 2018, mobile telephony has generated $ 50 billion in West Africa “We have positioned ourselves early in Africa, as creators, accelerators for these issues related to data analysis and bet on the future by proposing proximity and a transfer of skills on the spot operators of the continent. Our investments in this direction will continue to grow, knowing that artificial intelligence is today and not tomorrow that happens, “commented Youssef Aqallal, DG SAS French Africa, quoted in the statement of the US group.