Atos plans to double its African operations in 5 years

Atos wants to double its efforts in Africa over the coming five years, thereby expanding its personnel from the current 2,000 to around 5,000 employees. The firm revealed its plans for expansion during the COP21 climate conference, which took place last week in Paris.

Worldwide Atos has around 93,000 employees across more than 70 countries, which together generate revenues of €11 billion. Around 2% of the firm’s personnel are currently active in Africa, something the firm is seeking to significantly expand in the coming years. Last week, during the international climate conference in Paris, where some 50,000 representatives from across the world came together to solve the climate change challenges, Thierry Breton, the CEO of the firm, announced ambitious growth plans for the continent, that according to many will be the next area of massive global growth following the BRIC and emerging market hype that is now waning. 

"Atos, already present in Africa with more than 2,000 employees, wishes to increase its involvement on the continent, with the objective of reaching 5,000 employees in the 2020 timeframe. Our development is based on strong partnerships with local players such as governments, companies, schools and universities,” says Francis Meston, Executive Vice-President, Middle East and Africa, and Atos Group’s Chief Digital Transformation Officer.

With the investment, Atos believes it will also contribute to the sustainable development of the continent, as part of the firm’s wider CSR strategy. “This gives us the possibility of strengthening our strategy and to fulfil the expectations of our stakeholders to boost the digitalisation efforts in Africa in the long term.”