The annual Huawei Africa Connect 2024 conference commenced at the Sandton Convention Centre, marking a significant event for the region. Previously known as Huawei Eco Connect, this year’s gathering highlighted Huawei’s efforts towards Sub-Saharan Africa, in delivering innovative solutions to its partners.
David Wang, Executive Director of the Board and Chairman of the ICT Infrastructure Managing Board for Huawei, opened the event.
Read: Innovate for Impact: Huawei’s Commitment to a Connected Future
He spoke on the rapid digital transformation in the region, noting the deployment of intelligent applications by various governments and businesses. Wang also spoke about Huawei’s substantial investment in research and development, amounting to 156 billion US dollars over the past decade. He discussed Huawei’s focus on networks, storage, computing, and cloud, and its collaboration with partners to tailor ICT infrastructure products and solutions to specific business needs.
Hover Gao, President of Huawei Sub-Saharan Africa, spoke about the region’s young population, growing cities, and industry innovations from fintech to clean energy. He described the current period as an unprecedented opportunity for Africa to reshape its future. Gao outlined Huawei’s four key roles in the region: constructing digital and intelligent infrastructure, driving digital intelligent transformation in African industries, enabling low-carbon development, and contributing to Africa’s innovative ecosystem.
Remarks from Panyaza Lesufi
Panyaza Lesufi, Premier of the Gauteng Province, also attended the event. He expressed gratitude to Huawei for hosting the conference in Gauteng and reaffirmed the province’s support for the partnership. Lesufi highlighted his government’s commitment to embracing innovation and called for more technological solutions to combat crime in economic hubs like Johannesburg.
Ove 2500 visitors
The conference attracted over 2,500 business and thought leaders who gathered to exchange ideas with technology experts, learn about the latest products defining the intelligent digital era, and explore new business opportunities. The event focused on the impact of digital intelligence on sectors such as finance, transportation, manufacturing, internet service provision (ISP), and small to medium enterprises (SMEs).
devina@technation.news
