Rabat: AfricUpdate – News Desk
Cisco and the International University of Rabat (UIR) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create a Cisco EDGE Incubation Center at the university. The partnership will focus on cybersecurity and artificial intelligence, aiming to position UIR as a strategic hub for development and innovation. The agreement forms part of Cisco’s global Country Digital Acceleration program, which promotes digital transformation by connecting academia, startups, industry players, and public institutions to accelerate the adoption of new technologies.
The EDGE Centre (Experience, Design, Go-to-market, Earn) will serve as a catalyst for innovation in Morocco’s growing technology ecosystem. Through this initiative, Cisco plans to foster synergy between universities, private sector companies, and public institutions. “This initiative lays the foundation for future digital growth across North Africa,” said Francine Katsoudas, Executive Vice President and Chief People, Policy & Purpose Officer at Cisco, during the signing ceremony. “With ten innovation centers across the African continent, we are working alongside nations to unleash the potential of AI and advanced technologies.”
The signing ceremony was attended by key figures, including Meryem Medaghri Alaoui, General Director of Cisco Morocco, and Noureddine Mouaddib, UIR President. Katsoudas added that the collaboration aligns with Cisco’s global vision to train three million skilled professionals across Africa to support a secure and inclusive digital future for all. This partnership comes at a time when Morocco is rapidly strengthening its tech infrastructure – anchored by the national Digital Morocco 2030 strategy, which aims to heighten digital exports, double the digital workforce to 240,000 jobs, and drive public-service modernization through AI-enabled digitization.
Recently, a separate agreement was signed in Rabat between several ministerial departments, the Moroccan Agency for Investment and Export Development (AMDIE), and the French company Onepoint to establish a center of excellence in data and artificial intelligence in the Casablanca-Settat region. This initiative will recruit 500 Moroccan engineers by 2029, bolstering national expertise in artificial intelligence, middleware, and data management, and positioning Morocco as a premier high-value offshoring hub and continental reference for technological innovation. The UIR-Cisco collaboration will include programs such as the Cisco Networking Academy to train the next generation of technology leaders, in what the joint press release describes as a shared commitment to advancing Morocco’s innovation ecosystem.
