Huawei and ATU signed MoU to boost ICT development in Africa

By Phoebe Huang

Huawei has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) during the ICT training workshop co-hosted by ATU, African Advanced Level Telecommunications Institute, and African Media Initiative, in Nairobi, Kenya.

Mr. Abdoulkarim Soumaila, Secretary General of ATU, and Mr. Dean Yu, CEO of Huawei Kenya, signed the MoU which includes partnership on ICT training, technical support to continental ICT development in Africa, ICT development and innovation, and contribution to the local, regional and international ICT policy and regulation.

“ICT is increasingly becoming an enabler thus driving the social development of Africa. To enhance ICT development in Africa, all parties in the ICT industry/sector must work together to share experience and resources,” said Mr. Soumaila, “I appreciate the efforts that Huawei has been taking in introducing the most innovative ICT technologies to Africa in the past 17 years, and their continuous efforts of ICT knowledge transfer in the continent. I am happythat ATU will have Huawei as a strategic partner to shape the ICT future of Africa together.”

“Huawei is glad to have the privilege to partner with ATU to accelerate the ICT development in Africa. We have been working hard to collaborate with important stakeholders in our industry to build a healthy ecosystem to realize our vision of building a better connected Africa,” said Dean Yu, “We believe with joint efforts between Huawei and ATU, digital divides in Africa will be bridged, and ICT will boost the social-economy in Africa.”

Entering Africa in 1998, Huawei has been partnering with excellent local operators in Africa to provide the most innovative ICT solutions and services, striving to engineer broadband technology to the highest standard, faster than ever, for everyone, everywhere.

Besides providing innovative ICT solutions to bridge the digital divides in Africa, Huawei also leverages its global training resources to cultivate ICT talents for Africa. Its 7 ICT training centers in Africa have trained over 30,000 people, and it’s also working closely with governments and top tier universities to send excellent African students back to China to have ICT training and hands-on working experience with the most advanced ICT equipments.In 2014, 9 Kenyan students benefited from “Seeds for the future”, a Huawei global flagship CSR program and had ICT training in Huawei headquarters in China. Over the next 3 years, at least 100 students from Kenya will benefit from the same ICT training program from Huawei.