Middle East and Africa
At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.
As a trusted partner for critical networks, we are committed to innovation and technology leadership across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. We create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs.
Adhering to the highest standards of integrity and security, we help build the capabilities needed for a more productive, sustainable and inclusive world.
Middle East & Africa Broadband Index Report
Nokia research reveals 5G subscriptions in MEA to cross 250 million by 2026 and total data traffic is expected to increase significantly in the next four years with a CAGR of 35 percent.
The Nokia MEA Broadband Index Report - I provides valuable insight, data and analysis on mobile broadband subscribers, coverage, ARPU and its traffic growth in the MEA region, as well its respective sub-regions: GCC, Southern Africa, North Africa, Middle East, and Central East West Africa. The report has been created based on Nokia’s intelligence, as well as data from third-party sources GlobalData and Tutela. This is planned as a half-yearly report and the second report will be published in January 2023.
Our 5G momentum
Operators in the Middle East and Africa were among the first ones globally to introduce Nokia 5G technology and the momentum continues.
Driving innovation
We invest significantly in communication technology R&D to drive innovation across entire networks.
5G Security: Risks and Mitigation Measures
This white paper, authored by Saudi Telecom Company (stc) and Nokia is an attempt to raise security awareness in our industry for a service expected to have one of the highest global impacts in economy and society in history. Security by design and taking a security first policy in software development is a vital tool in our industry’s arsenal. stc’s 5G deployments were carefully designed with security at the core, with the goal of enabling Saudi national digital transformation via secure infrastructure, without which, no digital economy can survive in today’s cyber reality. We believe that enriching the industry with what we have learned is vital to the Cybersecurity knowledge library.
Nokia and stc launch the operation of Technology Innovation Center to stimulate innovation
Nokia and stc announced a joint collaboration to operate stc’s Technology Innovation Center in Riyadh. An agreement was signed to this extent by Abdullah Alowini, VP, Technology Strategy and Architecture at stc, and Khalid Hussain, Saudi Country Senior Officer at Nokia, in the presence of Haitham Al Faraj, SVP, Technology and Operations at stc, and Amr K. El Leithy, Head of Middle East and Africa Market at Nokia. The five-year project will see Nokia carry out several programs to help stc develop at least four truly innovative use cases every year to support stc’s business goals.
Saudi MCIT, Nokia ink deal to set up global software development unit
The Saudi Ministry of Communications and Information Technology [MCIT] and Nokia agreed to launch Nokia R&D unit for developing software in Saudi Arabia. The agreement was signed by H.E Deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Eng. Haitham Bin Abdul-Rahman Al-Ohali, and Amr K. El Leithy, Head of the Middle East and Africa Market, Nokia, in the presence of H.E Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Eng. Abdullah Bin Amer Alswaha and Rajeev Suri, the President and CEO of Nokia as well as a number of officials and dignitaries of both the parties.
Nokia collaborates with two leading universities in Ethiopia to promote digital skills and innovation
Nokia signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Addis Ababa Science and Technology University and Addis Ababa Institute of Technology in order to collaborate and provide high-level technical skills to students in line with rapidly changing market needs.
Webinar: Helping MEA CSPs overcome a global crisis
In this webinar Aji Ed, Nokia CTO for Middle East and Africa market, discussed how to help MEA CSPs address new network requirements, covering automated Services & Operations, #Stayhome Access and Connectivity and the critical need for resilient and scalable transport networks.
Customer success videos
Nokia signs four-year 5G expansion deal with du
Panel Discussion with Zain KSA - Opportunities of 5G fixed wireless access
UNICEF-Nokia project: Connecting the unconnected to inclusive digital learning in Kenya
Raising to the pandemic (du)
Transforming Asiacell’s network in Iraq
Orange Cameroon's Journey to 4G Success
Pulse 95 FM radio interview "#FutureTalk: The Speed of 5G Networks" with Nokia CTO Aji Ed
SkyNews Arabic video interview "on the collaboration between Nokia and NASA to deploy the first cellular network on the moon"
A testimonial by MTN Group executives on their Digital Transformation journey with Nokia in Nigeria
News in Middle East and Africa
Press releases
- 15 Sep 2021: Nokia and ATU to speed up digital transformation and the knowledge economy in Africa
- 13 Sep 2021: Nokia drives MTN Core evolution through cloud and future voice upgrades
- 31 Aug 2021: Nokia and Asiacell to boost network performance with next-gen microwave network in Iraq
- 17 Aug 2021: Nokia, Safaricom and UNICEF connect more primary schools to the Internet across Kenya
- 6 May 2021: Nokia and UN Women collaborate to further promote inclusion and diversity in Middle East and Africa
- 15 Apr 2021: Nokia and Mobily achieve the highest throughput with mmWave in its live 5G network in Riyadh
- 27 Jan 2021: Ooredoo Algeria deploys Nokia’s cloud-native core software to prepare for the future
- 23 Dec 2020: TAWAL Selects Nokia Full Turnkey Services for 5G Expansion
- 14 Dec 2020: Nokia wins Asiacell Telecom’s countrywide end-to-end multi-vendor optimization project
- 30 Nov 2020: Nokia and Airtel Kenya lay 5G foundations in Nairobi
- 17 Nov 2020: Nokia to deploy internet gateway for ITPC network in Iraq
- 15 May 2020: stc Group and Nokia sign a strategic 5-year Master Frame Agreement
- 12 May 2020: stc launching AgileWAN in collaboration with NOKIA offering a complete managed SD-WAN service
- 20 Feb 2020: Ooredoo Qatar to use Nokia AI-powered customer engagement solution towards monetizing 5G and providing improved digital experiences to users
- 12 Feb 2020: Spectranet and Nokia to provide 100+ Mbps ultra broadband services with FTTH to home and business users in Nigeria
- 30 Sep 2019: Nokia completes world’s first single-carrier terabit-per-second field trial, sets optical transmission capacity record over Etisalat’s fibre network in UAE
- 13 Jun 2019: Ooredoo Algeria deploys Nokia Cloud Mobile Gateway to transform its network for next generation broadband services
- 12 Jun 2019: Nokia and UNICEF launch partnership to boost digital literacy in primary schools in Kenya
- 28 May 2019: Vodafone Egypt deploys Nokia Subscriber Data Management over telco cloud for faster rollout of LTE services
- 14 Feb 2019: Advancing its digital transformation with Nokia, Telenor Pakistan deploys country's first 5G-ready cloud-based RAN platform and controllers
- 19 Sep 2018: Nuage Networks unveils SD-WAN 2.0, the industry's only automated and secure services platform for the delivery of enterprise IT services across any network and cloud
Middle East and Africa leadership
Amr K. El Leithy
Head of the MEA Market
Rima Manna
Head of Middle East Market Unit
Ibrahim Al-Abbas
Head of Group Customer Business Team, stc
Samer Lutfi
Head of Group Business Team, Ooredoo
Pierre Chaume
Head of North, West Africa & Orange Market Unit
Rajiv Aggarwal
Head of Central, East & West Africa Market Unit
Toni Pellegrino
Head of Customer Business Team, Vodafone
Naveed Kashif
Head of Southern Africa & Customer Business Team, MTN
Radwa Hafez
Head of Sales Support & Customer Success
Soenke Peters
Head of Strategy & Technology
Kamal Ballout
Head of Nokia Enterprise
Joachim Wuilmet
Head of Marketing
Samar Mittal
Head of Cloud and Network Services
Roque Lozano
Head of IP & Optics
Mohamed Salama
Head of Fixed Networks
Mikko Lavanti
Head of Mobile Networks