Yasser Shaker, the executive vice-president of Orange and CEO of its Middle East and Africa division, is not shy about where he sees the group's future. His division generated €8.43bn in revenue in 2025, a 12.2% jump year on year, and accounted for nearly 21% of Orange's total global revenue of €40.4bn. With 179 million customers at the end of the year, the region is outpacing every other part of the French telecoms giant's footprint.
The first half of 2026 has kept that momentum going. Regional revenue grew 13.9% year on year, compared to just 3.5% growth across the wider Orange group. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation after lease costs rose by 16.1% in the same period. Shaker credits Africa's young, growing population and the sheer number of people still waiting to be connected. "Today, we, 100%, represent the growth engine," he says.
Mobile services are still doing the heavy lifting. In 2025 they brought in €6.51bn, roughly 77% of the division's revenue, with fixed broadband services adding another €1.07bn. But Shaker is clear that staying in the lane of pure connectivity would mean leaving serious money on the table. Fintech and digital business services, he argues, represent an entirely different scale of opportunity, one where growth is available everywhere across the continent, not just in underpenetrated markets.
The path is not without friction. Orange's Africa and Middle East division spans multiple countries, each with its own purchasing power, regulatory environment, infrastructure gaps and digital maturity. A product that lands well in one market may need a full rethink for the next. Figuring out how to scale without duplicating costs at every border is the real challenge that comes with being the group's biggest growth story.
Originally published by African Business.