Nokia opened its first Innovation Centre in Africa and the Middle East, establishing a site in Morocco which it hopes will encourage technology development, support local talent and boost the country’s digital offerings.

The Finnish vendor explained the hub, located in the city of Sale, is equipped with Nokia’s entire network infrastructure portfolio spanning: fixed networks; IP; optical; and fibre, housed within a state-of-the-art data centre.

The facility will be used to support a range of use cases from 5G mobile backhaul to data centre fabric and security, serving as a “focal point” for the testing, verification and deployment of advanced network technologies.

The facility also backs Morocco 2030 digital vision, playing “a pivotal role in advancing digital skills, enabling testing, verification, deployment and training of advanced solutions across the EMEA region”.

“The opening of Nokia’s Innovation Centre in Morocco is a testament to our country’s ability to attract leading global technology companies and foster innovation,” said Morocco’s minister of Digital Transition and Administration Reform, Ghita Mezzour. “This centre will not only enhance our position as a regional hub for digital services across EMEA but will also play a crucial role in developing local talent.”

Further, the site will offer practical training to engineering schools and universities, which Nokia believes solidifies its contribution to Morocco’s ICT ecosystem.