Microsoft optimizes operations in Africa to scale impact, appoints Wael Elkabbany as General Manager

A photo of Wael Elkabbany 

Microsoft’s Africa Regional Cluster subsidiary will drive strategic initiatives across Africa to accelerate digital transformation and economic prosperity

Microsoft has announced the formation of the Africa Regional Cluster (ARC) subsidiary. This forms part of the company’s ongoing commitment to enable digital transformation powered by the people of Africa for Africa, and will build on the strong foundation established over the last 30 years of Microsoft’s operations on the continent. The new subsidiary will be led by Wael Elkabbany, as General Manager.

ARC will be covering all countries in the continent except for South Africa. Microsoft is excited by the increased ability to bring scale and innovation to its execution across the African continent. Innovation in cloud services will better enable Africa to participate in the global digital economy, however these opportunities come with challenges that need to be addressed to unlock the continent’s full digital potential.

“Our guiding principle is enabling our customers and partners through the unique value of the Microsoft Cloud, while bringing to life our mission of empowering every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. The ARC will enable us to maximize the huge opportunity across the continent, whilst creating synergies across operations,” says Samer Abu Ltaif, President, Middle East and Africa at Microsoft.

The Africa Transformation Office (ATO) is Microsoft’s Africa growth and acceleration engine that was established in 2021 as an integral part of Microsoft’s continued investment in the continent. The ATO focuses on enabling growth and fuelling investment in four essential development areas – digital infrastructure, skilling, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and startups, supported by strategic partnerships with governments, international organizations, multinationals, and African enterprises. 2021 was an instrumental year for ATO, in which the team accelerated execution of its key strategic focus areas to synergize existing Microsoft investment and drive amplified impact and growth. The ATO will remain as a function reporting to Elkabbany as part of the ARC leadership team.

“I am honoured to be taking the responsibility of leading our Africa Regional Cluster and proud to be renewing my pledge to the Africa Transformation Office and its inspiring mandate. We have a tremendous opportunity to accelerate our business growth in the continent and also a responsibility to increase our role to help drive impact at scale, reaching millions of Africans and accelerating Africa’s digital transformation,” says Elkabbany.

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