Telecom giant Ooredoo strengthens focus on AI and financial technology, commits to enhancing connectivity in Africa and the Middle East through strategic investments
Ooredoo Group Accelerates Digital Transformation with Strategic Initiatives
Ooredoo Group, a leading telecommunications provider in the Middle East and Africa, is embarking on a strategic journey to drive digital transformation across the region. The company's focus is on three core pillars: TowerCo, Syntys, and Fintech, designed to optimize asset utilization, boost connectivity, and accelerate digital transformation.
TowerCo: Optimizing Infrastructure
The TowerCo initiative aims to optimize and monetize Ooredoo’s telecommunications tower infrastructure. This move supports infrastructure sharing, reduces operational costs, and enables faster network expansion, critical for broadening 4G/5G coverage and laying the foundation for enhanced digital services.
Syntys: Embracing AI and Cloud Technologies
Syntys, Ooredoo’s digital and technology services arm, is leading efforts in advancing the company’s capabilities in AI, cloud computing, and innovative digital technologies. By embedding AI-powered solutions in Ooredoo’s offerings, the company aims to improve operational efficiency, customer experience, and service quality, aligning with their broader digital transformation ambitions.
Fintech: Empowering Financial Services
Fintech reflects Ooredoo’s expanding footprint in financial technology, particularly in enhancing digital payments, mobile banking, and related services. This initiative will drive financial inclusion and digitization of economic activities, empowering consumers and businesses in the region and supporting the growth of digital economies.
These three pillars contribute to Ooredoo’s overarching goal of digital transformation by enabling scalable and efficient network infrastructure, leveraging cutting-edge AI and cloud technologies, and expanding financial service ecosystems.
A Path to Sustainable Innovation
This portfolio approach supports Ooredoo’s long-term strategy toward sustainable innovation, operational efficiency, and enhanced customer experience. The company has already shown positive financial impacts, such as revenue growth and a robust EBITDA margin. The rollout of advanced 5G networks complements these initiatives, driving increased data consumption and new service possibilities in key markets.
Expanding Horizons
Ooredoo’s fintech operations processed significant remittance volumes in Q1 2025, generating QAR 22.1 million in revenue and serving over 326,000 active users. Plans are underway to extend Ooredoo’s fintech offerings to North African markets, particularly Tunisia.
The FIG subsea cable project, aimed at connecting key Gulf countries with a 720 Tbps capacity network, has the potential to extend benefits to North African markets by creating new digital corridors between Africa, Asia, and Europe.
Investing in the Future
Capital expenditure for Ooredoo Group rose by about 40 percent to QAR 538 million in the first quarter of 2025. Ooredoo Group recorded revenue of QAR 5.8 billion for the same period. The company has secured a QAR 2 billion financing facility from Qatari banks for Syntys, and Syntys is backed by a USD 1 billion investment and is scaling toward over 120 MW of AI-ready capacity.
Modernizing the Network
Ooredoo is modernizing its mobile network with 5G Standalone and 5G Advanced technologies. The company is also developing AI-ready data centres and advanced network upgrades in Algeria and Tunisia, expected to boost local enterprise innovation and create new opportunities for tech-driven economic growth.
A Digital Leader Emerges
By combining robust financial performance with bold technological initiatives, Ooredoo is redefining its role in the telecom sector and emerging as a pivotal force in driving digital transformation across both the Middle East and Africa. The company is transforming into a multi-asset digital leader, with its strategic roadmap designed to strengthen its role as a digital infrastructure provider.
In sum, Ooredoo’s TowerCo, Syntys, and Fintech initiatives form a cohesive strategic framework fueling its digital transformation ambition and positioning the Group as a regional leader in technology-driven growth and connectivity across the Middle East and Africa.
- Ooredoo Group, with a focus on tower infrastructure optimization through TowerCo, aims to reduce operational costs, enable faster network expansion, and support 4G/5G coverage, all critical for broadening digital services.
- Syntys, Ooredoo’s digital and technology services arm, is leading efforts in enhancing the company's capabilities in AI, cloud computing, and innovative digital technologies, aimed at improving operational efficiency, customer experience, and service quality.
- Fintech, an expanding sector for Ooredoo, intends to drive financial inclusion and digitization of economic activities, empowering consumers and businesses through enhanced digital payments and mobile banking services.
- By investing in tech-driven initiatives like 5G networks, AI-ready data centers, and fintech services in markets such as North Africa, Ooredoo Group is redefining its role, emerging as a pivotal force in driving digital transformation across both the Middle East and Africa.
