Huawei has unveiled an ambitious initiative to train an additional 150,000 individuals in Sub-Saharan Africa over the next three years. This new target builds on the ICT leader’s previous goal to equip over 100,000 people in the region with digital skills by 2025, a milestone it has already surpassed by training over 120,000 people, exceeding its initial goal by 120 percent and achieving it 10 months ahead of schedule.
The announcement was made at the LEAP Summit 2024: ICT Talent and Sustainable Development for Sub-Saharan Africa, an event co-hosted by Huawei and the African Telecommunications Union (ATU). The summit, an official partner program of Mobile World Congress Shanghai 2024, gathered over 200 dignitaries, including high-ranking ministers, ambassadors, and other government officials from across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Jeff Wang, Huawei’s Senior Vice President and President of Public Affairs and Communications, emphasized the company’s commitment to inclusive and future-oriented talent development. “Huawei launched the LEAP Digital Talent Development Program in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2022. After more than two years, we are glad to see so many people benefit from it,” he said.
Hover Gao, President of Sub-Saharan Africa at Huawei, highlighted the progress made in talent development across African countries, attributing the success to the collaborative efforts of government agencies, academia, and industry.
John OMO, Secretary General of the ATU, reiterated the importance of a human-first approach to technology. “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,” he said, urging collective participation in upskilling efforts.
The LEAP Summit also featured remarks from Hon. Minister Counselor He Hongyan of China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who underscored the importance of China-Africa talent cooperation. Additionally, Siddharth Chatterjee, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in China, highlighted the need for a multilateral approach to addressing the digital skills gap to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Hon. Dr. Tatenda Annastacia Mavetera, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Information Communication Technology, Postal and Courier Services, stressed the power of collaboration in unlocking ICT’s potential.
During the summit, Joyce Liu, Director of Huawei’s TECH4ALL Digital Inclusion Office, shared progress on the TECH4ALL initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa, which focuses on building connectivity for schools, improving capabilities for people, and supporting STEM content development.
Steven Fan, Director of Huawei’s Training & Certification Department, introduced the new Huawei Digital Intelligence Talent Development Program, offering free Huawei Certificate courses and exam vouchers. Additionally, the Digital Badge program will allow students and teachers to display their certifications on social media to enhance employment opportunities.
Huawei’s LEAP program, launched in 2022, aims to foster a robust digital leadership and skilled ICT workforce, promote digital literacy, and includes various activities from ICT training and certification courses to government digital capacity building and ICT skills competitions.