Huawei To Support Nigeria’s Digital Transformation, Sets $15m Incentives For Partners

Huawei Technologies has restated its commitment to accelerating Nigeria’s digital transformation, even as it announced plans to incentivise its partners with a substantial investment of $15 million annually.

This move was part of Huawei’s strategy to strengthen its relationships with partners and to explore how to enhance the “Partner + Huawei” ecosystem, enabling customers to create greater value through digitization and bringing the digital world within reach.

At the Huawei Nigeria Connect 2024, held over the weekend in Lagos, partners gathered to discuss ICT trends, industry advancements, and the company’s latest strides towards ensuring a fully connected, intelligent world.

The Managing Director of the Enterprise Business Group, Huawei Nigeria, Terrens Wu, sincerely appreciated the strong support and profound trust from valued customers and partners in spreading the reach of technologies.

According to Wu, technology has enabled a lot of things, and we need to embrace the latest technology, including cloudification, decarbonisation, and digitalization in Nigeria.

“Currently, everyone, every organisation, and all the countries are talking about the digital economy, and especially when we see the digits of the growth, we can easily find out the digital economy is growing rapidly. It is two times the regular gross domestic product (GDP) growth in most countries.

“So what it tells us is that as long as the industry, as long as countries embrace and accelerate the digital transformation, the digital economy will grow quickly and contribute more to the country’s GDP development.”

Wu noted Nigeria’s progress under various ministries, particularly the Ministry of Communication Innovation and Digital Economy, as the country aims for zero carbon emissions by 2050, a target requiring everyone’s attention and contribution. He revealed that on Huawei’s part, “There are more than 100 Huawei solar sites in Nigeria with capacity of over 30MW.”

“To meet the trend of digitalization, we have adjusted and strengthened our 6 major businesses to better enhance our capabilities and serve different vertical industries. Not only this, we have so far been greatly involved in connectivity – 4G mobile broadband penetration has reached 84 per cent in Nigeria. Working with Huawei, MTN has launched the first 5G network in Nigeria. In terms of AI and cloud computing, 40 per cent of the enterprise embrace Huawei cloud services which clearly shows exponential growth in Cloud computing.”

So I hope that companies in this room, all of the partners who are sitting in this room, Huawei can be your strategic partner and supporter for you to help different industries accelerate digital transformation. And we can easily see that the heavy investment continues, and then the digitalization and carbonisation, and the value they bring to not only the industry but also the society.

“By adhering to our fundamental strengths in innovation and research and development (R&D), we can maintain our leadership in the realm of digital development. With a proud history of over 25 years in Nigeria, Huawei has not only made significant contributions to society and various industries through tax contributions but has also made investments in the training of ICT talent to bolster the country’s transition towards a digital economy,” Wu said.

From 2018 to 2023, Huawei has trained more than 50,000 Nigerians on ICT empowerment, more than 200 indigenous companies’ technical capability have been improved by Huawei as certified partners. Huawei has also built 10 Regional Network Operation Centers (RNOC) in Nigeria which served 12 countries such as Nigeria, Botswana, Ghana, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Comoros, Mauritius, Tanzania, Zambia, and Somalia.

The Enterprise Managing Director noted further that achieving success hinges on embracing cutting-edge technology such as cloudification, decarbonisation, and digitalization. ‘We rely heavily on our partners to deliver over 90 per cent of our solutions, equipment, and services to end users. We are committed to providing incentives to partners who align with Huawei’s vision and values on this journey.’ Wu added.

Lending her voice to the discourse, Dr. Happiness Udoh, Senior Channels and Commercial Sales Manager, Huawei Nigeria, appreciated the unwavering dedication and support of partners, noting that the company recorded an increased revenue as a result of the combined effort of over 300 partners.

“As our business grows rapidly, Huawei will continue to adhere to our principles and concept of integration, shared success, fair and just, and transparent partnership,” she added.

The 2024 Partners Connect also featured a Gala Night and Awards Ceremony with 29 Awards presented to partners and individuals for their outstanding contribution and service in 2023.