By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa’s has a robust and sophisticated ICT sector, that could help drive growth in much-needed jobs.
Ramaphosa was speaking at the launch of the Huawei SA Innovation Centre held at the Huawei Office Park in Woodmead, Sandton.
He was joined at the Huawei event by several members of his cabinet, including small business development minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams – herself a former minister of communications – and deputy police minister Cassel Mathale.
The Huawei Innovation Centre serves to foster and encourage joint innovations with Huawei’s South African partners, app developers and Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) in the ICT space.
The centre is also a showcase of Huawei’s latest and most innovative digital technologies and solutions.
The President, who toured the centre in the morning, said what he saw and heard, is both impressive and encouraging.
“This centre brings together Huawei’s different business units in a collaboration hub with local partners, app developers and ICT-focused SMMEs. For South Africa, expanding digital infrastructure is one of the primary engines of economic growth [and] the development of information technology is key to the competitiveness of our economy, “Ramaphosa said.
The President also welcomed Huawei plans to invest substantially in data centres and cyber security industries in Africa.
By adopting the range of cutting-edge technologies being pioneered by companies such as Huawei, he said, South Africa and the continent will be able to leapfrog into the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
“It is our hope that this Innovation Centre will be a springboard for the launch of new local ICT enterprises that create jobs. We hope it will be a springboard to new business processes that grow our economy and support our national developmental goals, “Ramaphosa said.
Leo Chen, president of Huawei Sub-Saharan Africa, stressed that the facility will be a co-innovation space. “This is so that we can develop innovation that can meet the real needs of South Africans, industries and markets, to build a flourishing digital ecosystem for the country.
“South Africa is recognised on the continent as well as the global stage for 5G deployment and 5G-driven industrial digital transformation.
“As we look to the future, Huawei is committed to contributing more to the country’s ICT infrastructure development and industry’s digital transformation.”
Chen Xiaodong, ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to SA, added: “The digital economy has increasingly become an important area of the China-South Africa business co-operation.
“China strongly supports the growth of South Africa’s digital economy, and we are ready to work with South Africa to accelerate 5G applications and jointly embrace the fourth industrial revolution.”
Ramaphosa noted the ICT sector is one of the “most attractive” industries for investment, and highlighted the importance of partnerships with ICT sector companies like Huawei for greater capability and efficiency.
“As we grow the digital economy, it is our expectation that this growth in revenue should be matched by an increase in the number of jobs the sector creates.
“It is, therefore, encouraging that this innovation centre will be focusing on knowledge and skills transfer, as well as SMME development.
“By adopting the range of cutting-edge technologies being pioneered by companies such as Huawei, South Africa and the continent will be able to leapfrog into the fourth industrial revolution.”
Other priorities include the development of an ICT and Digital Economy Masterplan and National Data and Cloud Policy.
The country also has strong regulatory frameworks around cybersecurity, intellectual property, and the protection of personal information, amongst others.