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Rabat – Executives from Huawei Northern Africa engaged in insightful roundtable conversations with journalists, shedding light on the challenges and opportunities of digitalization on the continent on the sidelines of the recent GITEX Africa 2024 conference held in Marrakech, Morocco.
The event, which took place between May 29 and May 31, brought together key players in the tech industry. These included Colin Hu, President of Enterprise and Cloud Business, Mounir Soussi, VP Cloud of Huawei Northern Africa (North, West and Central Africa), and Youssef Boukary, CTO of Networking Solutions, all representing Huawei Northern Africa.
One of the central themes of the roundtable was the challenge of connectivity. Youssef Boukary emphasized the pivotal role of reliable connectivity in driving digital transformation.
“In our region, the major challenge is connectivity. We cannot succeed in any digital transformation without good, reliable connectivity,” Boukary said, highlighting Huawei’s initiative, “Accelerate Intelligence for New Africa,” which focuses on bridging the digital divide by building robust infrastructure.
Huawei’s investment in wireless and fiber optic infrastructure has facilitated connectivity for over 360 million people in North Africa. Projects like RuralStar have brought internet access to 11 million individuals across 3,500 villages, addressing the issue of low internet penetration in rural areas.
Meanwhile, Hu shed light on the unique opportunities for innovation in Africa, citing examples such as mobile payment systems in Mauritania.
He emphasized the potential for leapfrogging outdated technologies and directly adopting cutting-edge solutions, positioning Africa as a leader in digital innovation.
“It is said that Africa is lagging behind, but this also represents an opportunity. For example, while in Europe, credit cards are mainly used, in Mauritania, many people uses mobile payment. In advanced countries, it is necessary to adapt existing models, while in Africa, there is a significant opportunity to leapfrog and directly adopt cutting-edge technologies,” Hu explained.
The discussion also delved into sector-specific digitalization efforts, highlighting the diverse applications of technology across industries.
Education emerged as a focal point, with Hu emphasizing the importance of digital solutions in improving access to education for African youth.
The event showcased Huawei North Africa’s commitment to partnering with governments to offer virtual universities and e-education solutions, addressing the low enrollment rates in higher education.
Beyond education, the executives discussed the role of technology in sectors such as healthcare, mining, and agriculture. Boukary emphasized the need for tailored solutions to address the unique challenges faced by each industry, advocating for an inclusive approach to digitalization.
Cloud computing emerged as a key enabler of digital transformation, with Huawei Northern Africa outlining its “One Network, One Cloud” strategy.
Hu emphasized the importance of localized cloud infrastructure, saying that his company believes that “the cloud should be in every country, and data should be hosted locally.”
The inauguration of a public cloud in Egypt marks a significant milestone in Huawei Northern Africa’s efforts to expand cloud infrastructure across Africa, paving the way for enhanced data management and storage capabilities.
Innovations in the energy sector were also a topic of discussion, with a focus on leveraging renewable resources to provide affordable electricity.
In this regard, Hu highlighted the role of digitalization in optimizing energy efficiency. “Digitalization can bring cheaper and more affordable energy to populations.”
For his part, Mounir Soussi emphasized the potential of artificial intelligence in driving industry transformation, particularly in areas such as pipeline monitoring and maintenance.
During the roundtable, Huawei Northern Africa executives touched on several industries, including mining, healthcare, education, and agriculture. Each sector was discussed in terms of its specific needs and how digital solutions could be tailored to address them.
On the subject of education, Colin Hu highlighted the importance of digital tools in giving African youth access to quality education.
Higher education enrollment rate on the continent is still very low (less than 9%), he recalled, noting Huawei Northern Africa’s commitment to working alongside African governments to provide virtual universities and e-education solutions to create value and improve access to education for young people.
Training programs play a crucial role in supporting digitalization on the continent. Huawei has developed several training programs, including ICT Academy and Seeds for the Future, to address these needs.
Regarding energy, Africa has vast natural resources such as solar and wind energy that can be harnessed to bring electricity to everyone. Colin Hu emphasized the importance of digital technology in providing cheaper and more affordable energy to populations.
Mounir Soussi also highlighted the importance of using artificial intelligence and digital solutions to help energy industries in their transformation and improve industry efficiency.
He mentioned the use of new technologies for intelligent pipeline monitoring in the Northern Africa region, which allows real-time surveillance, reduces operational costs, and quickly detects damages through fiber detection technology.
According to Colin Hu, this aspect aligns with Huawei Northern Africa’s new strategy, particularly its pillars of “New Infrastructure” and “New Values,” as it creates new value for the oil and gas industry.
Hu explained the “One Network, One Cloud” strategy and the importance of developing such infrastructure. “We work with each country because we believe that the cloud should be in every country and the data should be hosted locally as it belongs to the populations and countries. This notably reduces the risk of cross-border data transfer,” he stressed.
The inauguration of the public cloud in Egypt , an important step for the development of cloud infrastructure in the Northern Africa region, was also mentioned during the event.
The investment is part of a broader strategy to deploy cloud infrastructure across the continent, enabling better data management and increased storage and processing capacity. According to Mounir Soussi, the project “will contribute to generating millions of dollars in the Egyptian digital economy. It will create value, jobs, new businesses, start-ups, etc.”
Youssef Boukary pointed out that Huawei Northern Africa offers private cloud solutions dedicated to sectors such as transportation, education, government services, and businesses. “We, of course, comply with the regulations and laws of each country where we operate,” he added.
