For a quarter of a century, Karim Bennani has embodied Oracle’s rise across the African continent. A graduate of the very first class of Al Akhawayn University in 1999, he grew up with tech the way others grow up in a family home—building it, brick by brick, into something lasting. In Casablanca, he was one of the very first faces of the American tech giant in Africa. Today, he is one of its most influential voices.
In a sector where career paths often zigzag, Karim Bennani has followed a straight trajectory. Since joining Oracle in the late 1990s, he has never left the company. He has built from the ground up—first as a doer, then as a thinker, and finally as a leader.
It all began in Casablanca in 1999. Oracle had just set up its offices for French-speaking Africa, and Karim Bennani, then a fresh graduate with a degree in business administration from Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane, was hired as marketing manager for the region. The company was shifting toward international expansion, and Africa represented a new frontier. Another advantage: Al Akhawayn’s Anglo-Saxon approach and international outlook served as a true springboard for this kind of career.
From one position to the next, he expanded his scope of responsibility. Over the 2000s, he moved from marketing to sales management, then took on increasingly large geographic zones: first North Africa, then the Levant, Egypt, Turkey, and eventually the entire LEENA region (Levant, Egypt, North, East, West & Central Africa). A portfolio spanning more than 40 countries—from Casablanca to Baghdad, and from Accra to Addis Ababa.
His role? To grow Oracle’s market share—and to support the technological transformation of major African companies.
Regional leadership and digital diplomacy
Karim Bennani leads sales strategies around the group’s major offerings: Oracle Cloud, autonomous databases, and more recently, generative artificial intelligence integrated into Oracle’s solutions. He plays a key role in helping both public and private organizations adopt these technologies across critical sectors such as finance, energy, retail, and education.
Sovereign cloud, cybersecurity challenges, and machine learning–driven optimization are just some of the topics he discusses daily with African decision-makers. Oracle, historically a database software company, has evolved into a full-scale cloud solutions provider—a transformation Karim Bennani has significantly advanced on the continent.
Leading multicultural and multidisciplinary teams, he coordinates go-to-market strategies across multiple subregions. He also regularly takes part in major tech summits, including the highly selective Oracle CloudWorld—Oracle’s premier innovation showcase.
Through his journey, Karim Bennani embodies a form of African digital diplomacy: one where the continent is gradually shifting from being just a market to becoming a driving force in the data economy.
Married and a father of two, Karim Bennani remains deeply connected to his homeland. He is an active member of the Digital Africa Association, which promotes tech upskilling across the continent. His motto? That Africa should not only consume technology—but also produce solutions and cultivate talent.
Written in French by Jankari Consulting, edited in English by Nielson English
