Nexus Core Systems signs Morocco AI factory MoU
Marrakech agreement marks first phase of $1.28 billion data centre project
#Morocco #datacentres — London-based AI infrastructure company Nexus Core Systems has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with three Moroccan government bodies to build an AI data centre powered by renewable energy valued at 12 billion Moroccan dirhams ($1.28 billion), marking the start of one of the largest AI infrastructure commitments on the African continent. Signed on the sidelines of GITEX Africa 2026 in Marrakech last week, the deal brings together Morocco’s s Ministry of Digital Transition and Administrative Reform (MTNRA), the Ministry of Investment, and the Moroccan Investment and Export Development Agency (AMDIE). The project, backed by Nvidia and South Korea’s Naver Corporation, targets 36 megawatts of AI compute capacity by end of 2027 and directly supports Morocco’s Digital 2030 strategy. Early this month it was announced that land for the project had been seleceted in Nouaceur.
SO WHAT? — Africa’s total data centre capacity is expected to reach just 400 megawatts across the entire continent by the end of this year, with Morocco accounting for roughly 35 percent of the total. This deal adds another 36 megawatts of high-performance AI compute by the end of 2027 and does so with sovereign cloud architecture, a Centre of Excellence, and an innovation hub attached. Ultimately the project could keep building capacity up to 500 MW. The investment positions Morocco as a potential exporter of AI compute services to Africa and Europe.
Here are the key details behind the MoU:
Nexus Core Systems has signed an MoU with Moroccan authorities to build the Nexus AI Factory Platform, combining a high-performance computing data centre, a Centre of Excellence for skills transfer, and an innovation hub for next-generation solution development. The agreement marks the beginning of a $1.28 billion AI data centre project announced in 2025.
The agreement was signed with Morocco’s s Ministry of Digital Transition and Administrative Reform (MTNRA), the Ministry of Investment, and the Moroccan Investment and Export Development Agency (AMDIE).
The project will be built in two phases:
Phase 1 - Nouaceur Hub. This phase allocates 5 billion dirhams ($550m) to a 16 megawatt hub in the Nouaceur region, creating 50 direct jobs.
Phase 2 - Northern Expansion. This phase adds 7 billion dirhams ($750m) and a further 20 megawatts at a northern site, bringing total capacity to 36 megawatts by end of 2027.
The project is expected to create a total of 125 direct jobs by 2027 and aligns with Morocco’s Digital 2030 strategy, which targets a 5 percent share of GDP from the digital economy, 270,000 new jobs, and the development of 3,000 startups.
Nexus Core Systems was founded in 2025 in partnership with Dubai-based investment firm Lloyds Capital, and plans to develop AI factories optimised for high-demand workloads across multiple locations worldwide. The Moroccan facility is its flagship deployment.
The platform relies on advanced technologies from Nvidia and South Korea’s Naver Corporation, two of the most significant players in AI infrastructure globally. Naver will collaborate with Nexus Core Systems to operate the data centre platform and deliver integrated AI services.
The signing ceremony was attended by the US Ambassador to Morocco, H.E. Duke Buchan III, underscoring the geopolitical dimension of the investment and the role of American technology in Morocco’s digital infrastructure build-out.
The facility will adopt sovereign cloud and AI architecture, ensuring that data storage, processing and management remain within Moroccan jurisdiction, a critical requirement for EMEA clients operating under GDPR and emerging AI governance standards.
Just 15 kilometres from Europe with multiple direct submarine fibre-optic cable connections, Morocco’s strategic location gives the facility a structural advantage in serving European AI compute demand at competitive operating costs.
ZOOM OUT — The Nexus AI Factory sits inside a much larger national ambition. In January 2026, Morocco launched AI Made in Morocco, a national strategy targeting a 100 billion dirham ($10 billion) contribution to GDP by 2030, 50,000 AI-related jobs and training for 200,000 graduates in AI skills. The strategy includes a National Data Factory, a National Software Forge, sovereign cloud infrastructure, and a planned 500 megawatt renewable-powered data centre in Dakhla. Morocco is not simply buying AI capacity from abroad. It is building the conditions to produce it.
[Written and edited with the assistance of AI]
Read more about Morocco AI infrastructure plans:
Morocco to create JAZARI Industry X.0 Institute (Middle East AI News)
‘AI Made in Morocco’ aims for $10 billion impact (Middle East AI News)
Onepoint to open AI centre of excellence (Middle East AI News)
Morocco to create AI CoE network nationwide (Middle East AI News)
Consortium plans 500MW of AI compute in Morocco (Middle East AI News)