20/12/2022

WORKING VISIT TO MARSEILLE, AN INSPIRATION FOR SUCCESS IN THE TRANSFORMATION TO THE DIGITAL ECONOMY

The Director General of the Fonds Souverain de Djibouti (FSD), Dr. Slim Feriani made a working visit to Marseille, from December 11th to 13th 2022.

In a decade, the city of Marseille has accomplished an exceptional transformation of its economy by moving to a more digital environment. Dr. Feriani joined Her Excellency the Minister of Digital Economy and Innovation (MENI) of Djibouti, Mrs. Mariam Hamadou Ali, as well as a large delegation including Mr. Ibrahim Omar Abdallah (Director of Digital Transformation), Mr. Mohamoud Robleh Dabar (National Coordinator of Djibouti-Southern France Cooperation), Mr. Mhamed Dalla (Advisor to the Minister), Ms. Hamda Houssein Farah (Director of Business Development at GHIH/Great Horn Investment Holdings), and Mr. Warsama Guirreh (General Manager of DPCS/Djibouti Port Community System, part of the GHIH Group).

The program featured several site visits, including Interxion’s data center campuses (now part of the world’s leading data center group Digital Realty); SETEC International’s headquarters (one of France’s top 5 engineering and consulting groups in the infrastructure sectors, etc.); the Marseille Fos “smart port”; and ZEBOX’s incubator and gas pedal (part of the CMA CGM Group). Thanks to the 16 submarine cables that passes through Marseille (rising to 25 cables by 2030) and global giants in data centers such as Interxion, this city has become the world’s 7th largest digital hub in a decade (it was ranked 44th worldwide just 10 years ago) and is well on its way to becoming a “smart city”. With 40,000 jobs, 7,000 companies, and a turnover of 8 billion Euros, the digital sector is already as important as tourism and the port industry for the local economy.

Today, Africa represents 13% of the world’s Internet users, but only 1.4% of the world’s data center hosting capacity. There are currently only about 100 data centers in Africa, when there should be 700 to 800 data centers. There is already a lot of ground to make up, especially since Africa will account for about 25% of the world’s Internet users within 20 years, requiring 700-800 more new data centers, for a total of 1,400-1,600 units of such digital infrastructure.

With 9 submarine cables currently passing through Djibouti (going towards 14 cables in a few years), an exceptional geostrategic location, and stability and political will, Djibouti has all assets to become, amongst others, one of the main African and global digital hubs.

The establishment of the Sovereign Wealth Fund (FSD) in 2020 and a new ministry (MERN) dedicated to the digital economy and innovation in 2021, by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Djibouti are strong messages of his desire to diversify Djibouti’s economy, much more towards the digital and new trades, as part of his “Vision 2035”.

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FSD/ VISITE DE TRAVAIL À MARSEILLE, UNE INSPIRATION : DE SUCCÈS DANS LA TRANSFORMATION VERS L’ÉCONOMIE NUMÉRIQUE | LA NATION