The eighth edition of Huawei Connect has opened its doors in Shanghai from September 20 to 22, marking its first event since the global health crisis. This year’s spotlight is on artificial intelligence (AI), reflecting Huawei’s key focus for the African continent. During the Huawei Northern Africa Night event on September 20, Terry HE, President of Huawei Northern Africa (North, West & Central Africa), revealed the company’s renewed strategy to guide Africa towards a “smart and connected future.”
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This strategy, entitled “Accelerate Intelligence for New Africa”, is not just a mere roadmap, but a comprehensive blueprint for Africa’s digital and technological future. Given the continent’s young population, with 60% aged 25 or younger, digitalization is emerging as a major catalyst for growth in African nations. Additionally, the continent’s considerable potential in green energy offers an unparalleled competitive advantage in the AI era. Recognizing these strengths, Huawei’s new strategy is built around the integration of smart technologies, particularly AI, into vital sectors that shape and influence the daily lives of Africans, including health, education, transportation, finance, agriculture, and mining.
The strategy is structured around three core action areas:
- Accelerate intelligence to enhance inclusion, thereby improving people’s lives by expanding the coverage and quality of essential services;
- Accelerate intelligence to enhance governmental management and bolster the attractiveness of the business and commercial environment;
- Accelerate intelligence to heighten operational efficiency and productivity across the economy, particularly in Africa’s key industries.
To support this strategy, during the event, Terry HE unveiled a significant investment plan named “Intelligent Future” for the Northern Africa region, encompassing the 28 countries located to the north of the equator within the African continent.
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This grand five-year investment initiative, totaling $430 million, is allocated as follows: $200 million to establish the region’s first public cloud center, offering over 200 cloud services, and an additional $200 million to support 200 local software partners and empower 1,300 channel partners. In term of talent development, Huawei will invest $30 million to train 10,000 local developers and educate 100,000 digital professionals, creating a skilled workforce to drive intelligent transformation in the region.
The challenges are huge, and the stakes are high. “Every technological evolution is characterized by perseverance, exploration, and investment”, stated Terry HE, President of Huawei Northern Africa (North, West & Central Africa). He added, “To expedite intelligent transformation in Northern Africa, Huawei will intensify its investments in technologies, ecosystems, and talent.” He stressed the critical importance of close collaboration among governments, businesses, educational institutions, and communities to realize these ambitions. In conclusion, he called for united action, stating, “Let’s join forces to usher in a smarter world in Africa and fulfill the aspirations of its people.”
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