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Naguib Sawiris, an Egyptian billionaire and one of Africa’s wealthiest men, has expressed an interest in investing $100 million in Morocco’s technology sector to diversify his portfolio and deepen his position in the sector.
The Egyptian billionaire announced the planned investment move, which represents only 2.94 percent of his $3.4-billion net worth at the time of writing this report, while speaking on the sidelines of the African Business Forum (Choiseul) in Casablanca.
“We will enter the Moroccan market, in the coming years, if we find an open field in which there is no great competition,” Sawiris said.
The billionaire explained that he will not engage in a project in Morocco that calls for investments of more than $100 million in the first stage and that his preferred industry remains technology.
The belief that investments in electric vehicle charging stations in Africa will do well in the future, Sawiris said, is what drives his interest in the technology sector. In line with this interest, he is already in negotiations with several African governments to take the lead in this area.
He stated: “Morocco is getting ready to build a factory for batteries for electric vehicles. If the concerned authority adds the right to establish charging stations for these cars to this investment opportunity, we are very interested in entering this project.”
Sawiris also recently revealed plans to invest $200 to 300 million in the construction of four new hotels in Egypt through his investment holding company, Orascom Investment Holding.
The new hotels, two of which will be built on the country’s northern coast and two in the vicinity of Cairo and the pyramids, will be constructed by Ora Development, an Egyptian joint stock company founded in 2016 that develops projects similar to those seen in Europe.
