Amazon.com Inc ( AMZN ) and French telecommunications company Orange reportedly have entered into a new partnership to introduce cloud computing services in Morocco and Senegal through Amazon’s AWS Wavelength platform.

This marks the first time these services will be available in countries without physical AWS infrastructure, such as data centers, reported Reuters.

Instead, Orange will host these services in its own facilities, expanding AWS’s reach across the African continent.

The increasing need for faster computing solutions from sectors such as banking, telecommunications, and healthcare is driving cloud operators to Africa, the report noted.

Citing data from Statista, Reuters noted that the cloud market in Africa is projected to grow by 15% annually, reaching $18 billion by 2028.

This growth is fueled by rising data consumption, which in turn necessitates secure local data hosting solutions.

AWS’s infrastructure enables customers in regulated industries like telecom, finance, public sector, and healthcare to deploy and run applications locally, meeting data residency, low latency, and security needs.

Also Read: Amazon Inks ‘Largest Technology Investment’ In Spain, Pours $17B Into Cloud Infrastructure

“Customers of all sizes and industries in Morocco and Senegal will be able to access local AWS compute and storage for data residency, low latency, and security needs for applications,” the report quoted Jan Hofmeyr, AWS Vice President.

Currently, AWS dominates the global $270 billion cloud infrastructure market but has a limited presence in Africa, operating mainly in South Africa.

Approximately 30 operators across 17 African markets have launched 5G services, with ten additional countries announcing plans for 5G deployment, according to the GSMA, which the report noted.

Amazon ( AMZN ) stock has gained more than 50% in the last 12 months. Investors can gain exposure to the stock via Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR Fund ( XLY ) and Vanguard Consumer Discretionary ETF ( VCR ) .

Price Action: AMZN shares are trading higher by 0.64% at $183.32 at the last check Wednesday.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.