Broadband and digital services will allow Africa to take off in the digital economy.
This is according to Dr Mohamed Madkour, VP of ICT strategy and marketing at Huawei, who spoke last week at the Africa Tech Festival 2024 and AfricaCom, in Cape Town.
Madkour highlighted the urgent need for intelligent connectivity and digital transformation on the continent. “Africa has achieved a lot over the last decade, but we still need to work harder for Africa to leap in the era of 5G and intelligence.”
Two crucial trends will fuel this growth and help build a sustainable digital society, he said: first industrialising ICT business, and then leveraging it in digitalising other industries.
He noted there are two revolutions at play. “One of them is energy and the other is information. They are both feeding into an intelligent world, or industrial revolution, which is foundational.”
To be a viable player in this revolution, Africa requires infrastructure, talent and services, with a focus on its environmental impact.
Mobile connectivity in Sub-Saharan Africa requires collaboration, Madkour noted, adding that about half of the devices being used to access the internet in this region are 2G- or 3G-enabled phones.
“We need to get that remarkable device – the smartphone – into the hands of every African person.”
Huawei’s mission is to help develop fixed broadband (fibre) connectivity, he stated.
While connectivity conversations, be it on fibre or wireless, used to focus on speed, now it's also about security, intelligence, latency, compute power and convenience, he said.
Madkour also addressed the need for sustainability in the ICT sector, noting the environmental impact of communications and computing power must be factored into Africa’s digital strategy.
“About 20% of global carbon emissions can be reduced by better use of ICT.”
Citing World Bank data from 2020 that fewer than half of Africans had reliable power, if any at all, Madkour noted the urgent need to improve electricity supply across the continent.
Huawei is supporting low-carbon transition initiatives, particularly in rural and remote areas, he said. Through its solar microgrids, it aims to deliver power to communities without the need for large-scale investments in power distribution networks.
“A village of 150 households can go from no power to having between 30kWh and 60kWh of energy storage in just three to six months. This is crucial for closing the digital divide.”
In closing, Madkour said no single organisation, government, or operator can address these challenges alone. “Real proactive collaboration is key to making a meaningful difference.”
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