Global technology giant, Huawei on Friday unveiled its plan to train an additional 150,000 talents in Nigeria and other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2027.
A statement by the organisation which was obtained by our correspondent said the new plan by Huawei comes on top of its initial goal to equip over 100,000 people in the region with digital skills by 2025.
“Huawei announced a new plan to train an additional 150,000 talents in Sub-Saharan Africa over the next three years. The plan comes on top of the ICT leader’s initial goal to equip over 100,000 people in the region with digital skills by 2025. Huawei has already exceeded its initial goal by 120%, 10 months ahead of schedule, training over 120,000 individuals over the past 26 months.
“Both announcements were made at the LEAP Summit 2024: ICT Talent and Sustainable Development for Sub-Saharan Africa.”
LEAP stands for leadership, employability, advancement and possibility. The event, co-hosted by Huawei and the African Telecommunications Union is an official partner program of Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2024.
According to the statement, Huawei and ATU gathered over 200 guests for the LEAP Summit 2024. Among them were high-ranking ministers, ambassadors and other government officials from many African nations in the Sub-Saharan region.
“There is a pressing need to equip talent in Sub-Saharan Africa with digital skills. According to the World Economic Forum, more than one billion people around the world need to be upskilled or reskilled by 2030. Furthermore, the International Financial Corporation estimates that over 230 million jobs in Sub-Saharan Africa will require digital skills by 2030.
“In his opening address, Senior Vice President, President of Public Affairs and Communications, Huawei, Jeff Wang, outlined the company’s approach to inclusive, systematic and future-oriented talent development. “Huawei launched the LEAP Digital Talent Development Program in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2022. After more than two years of development, we are glad to see that so many people have benefited from it.”
Of LEAP thus far, President of Sub-Saharan Africa, Huawei, Hover Gao, said: “We have made much positive progress in talent development across African countries, but this would not have been possible without the joint efforts of government agencies, academia, and industry.”
In his remarks, the Secretary General of the African Telecommunications Union, John Omo, reiterated a human-first approach to technology.
He said: “Digital skills development and access to ICT is not about ICT, it’s about people. It’s about empowering people to participate sufficiently in the digital economy.”
Omo encouraged the audience to collectively participate in the effort to up skill to give the youth not just a future but also a present in which they can thrive.
Furthermore, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in China, Siddharth Chatterjee, joined the programme remotely via video to highlight the importance of a multilateral approach to addressing the digital skills gap and upskilling of workers. He said: “We hope these efforts can help people everywhere harness digital technologies, narrow the skill gap and create a sustained prosperity along with sustainable development, all of which are essential to achieving sustainable development goals .”
The Minister of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services, Zimbabwe, Dr. Tatenda Mavetera, provided both the local perspective and the pan-African perspective on digital talent cultivation. She said: “Beyond the impressive ICT talent achievements on display, this summit is a testament to the power of collaboration. It is through partnerships between governments, industries, leaders, academia, and civil society that we are truly able to unlock the full potential of ICT for the benefit of humanity.”