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Orange Middle East & Africa (OMEA), a major telecom player in the Middle East and Africa, has announced a strategic collaboration with Tencent Cloud, the cloud business of global technology company Tencent, aimed at enhancing the ecosystem and service offering of its super-app Max IT for businesses and populations in the region.

Unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the partnership involves Orange Middle East & Africa adopting Tencent Cloud’s mobility framework and Tencent Cloud Mini Program Platform (TCMPP) solution. This integration will create an open platform for Max it, enabling the incorporation of a diverse range of mini-apps within its super-app.

Leveraging Tencent Cloud’s technological expertise and experience in supporting Weixin/WeChat ecosystem, which boasts over 1.1 billion monthly active Mini Program users, OMEA seeks to enrich the Max it ecosystem and elevate the customer and partner experience while strengthening its foothold in the African market.

OMEA plans to gradually integrate mini-app technology from the second half of 2024, facilitated by its Digital Factory. The goal is to open its platform to a hundred partners, both global and local, and double the adoption of its super-app by 2025.

This collaboration aligns with OMEA’s vision of creating a unique digital ecosystem in Africa, accessible to all digital and content players, as part of its commitment to making the world easily accessible to its customers.

Moreover, OMEA aims to support African entrepreneurship through this alliance by providing local startups, merchants, content creators, and major brands the opportunity to develop customized mini-applications tailored to each country’s needs. This approach is not only expected to boost African innovation but also stimulate the local economy by generating new employment opportunities and economic growth.

Bruno Zerbib, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Orange, highlighted the technological interest of this partnership, stating, “The MEA Region is a vibrant place for innovation, and we are committed to giving the ecosystem the means to develop new services through the best technologies.” Zerbib emphasized the scalability and leadership of Tencent Cloud, enabling the creation of mini-apps specific to their markets while providing access to an existing platform of rich and varied mini-apps.

Jérôme Hénique, CEO of Orange Middle East and Africa, sees this partnership as a crucial step in the development of Max it, stating, “This partnership with Tencent Cloud is a key step in our vision to offer innovative and high-value services to our users.” Enriching Max it with innovative mini-apps is deemed essential to strengthen the value proposition, increase the penetration of their super-app, and amplify their social impact.

Fred Sun, General Manager of Europe at Tencent Cloud, expressed excitement about the collaboration, stating, “We are thrilled to collaborate with Orange to enrich Max it with our TCMPP solution.” Sun sees this collaboration as a unique opportunity to energize innovation and digital inclusion in Africa, fostering the development of use cases and services tailored to local needs and promoting African entrepreneurship. Drawing on Tencent Cloud’s experience in supporting Weixin/WeChat, one of the world’s original super-apps, Sun believes they are the ideal partner for Orange in this transformative journey.