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Morocco World
01-05-2025
- Business
- Morocco World
Huawei Reinforces Strategic Commitment to Africa's Digital Future
Rabat — Huawei hosted its Intelligent Africa Summit 2025 alongside GITEX Africa in Marrakech, on April 15. The summit brought together key partners to discuss how artificial intelligence (AI) can drive inclusive development across the continent. Under the theme 'Amplifying Intelligence for a New Africa,' the summit addressed how AI and digital innovation can shape Africa's future amid the continent's technological transformation. Inaugurating the summit, the President of Huawei Northern Africa Shen Li stressed the need for collaboration in Africa's transformation journey. Shen Li said that the tech-giant 'will continue [its] partnership with all stakeholders around the fundamental pillars of AI development — public policies, technology, ecosystem, and talent — to accelerate intelligence and build a new Africa together.' For his part, Smart Africa Director General and CEO Lacina Koné echoed this sentiment while speaking of the importance of developing digital transformation strategies rooted in Africa's unique characteristics. He urged the need to 'anchor ourselves more deeply — in policies, people, partnerships — so that Africa rises strongly against the winds of change that artificial intelligence is blowing.' Koné also spoke of Africa's assets with a particular focus on the continent's demographic advantage, noting that over 70% of the population is under 30. This provides a reservoir of creativity, agility, and resilience, driving the technological revolution, he argued. Read also: Morocco, Huawei Sign New Agreement to Boost Digital Skills, Innovation Meanwhile, the Vice President of Huawei Northern Africa Mounir Soussi focused on customer-centered opportunities in the rapidly evolving digital landscape. 'This era of transformation, inclusive AI opens new horizons for Africa,' he said. Soussi recalled Huawei's commitment to placing its customers at the heart of their technology development, saying it will 'continue to put customers at the center of its approach and promote intelligence across the continent.' The summit also provided an opportunity to feature the essential role of New Infrastructure in advancing AI throughout Africa. Ahmed Talaat, CTO of Huawei Cloud Northern Africa, explained : 'In Africa, Huawei Cloud is committed to building intelligent cloud infrastructure for the telecommunications sector, while accelerating intelligence in other sectors through systemic innovation combining AI for cloud and cloud for AI.' Marouane Akrab, Digital Center Manager at Attijariwafa Bank, shared practical insights on creating value through AI implementation. 'After establishing effective governance and centralizing data, Attijariwafa Bank has triggered a new strategic phase: making data a true performance lever. This second step involved strengthening analytical tools, more refined data use, and gradually acculturating teams to Data and AI usage,' he explained. Also, a high-level panel explored the New Ecosystem concept. High-caliber panelists focused on the vital importance of close collaboration in the AI era, while discussing the urgency of designing inclusive, agile, and resilient frameworks to support sustainable digital transformation. Through its combination of strategic visions, inspiring case studies, and operational recommendations, the Huawei Intelligent Africa Summit 2025 laid the groundwork for an ambitious agenda for Africa's digital future. The event reinforced Huawei's commitment to working alongside African stakeholders to build a more intelligent, interconnected future where innovation drives inclusive progress.
Zawya
22-04-2025
- Business
- Zawya
At GITEX Africa 2025, Huawei reinforces strategic commitment to the development of Africa's digital and intelligent future
Cairo, Egypt – Huawei Intelligent Africa Summit 2025 was held in Marrakech alongside GITEX Africa under the theme 'Amplify Intelligence for New Africa.' For its 3rd edition, GITEX put a strong spotlight on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital innovation, highlighting a turning point in Africa's technological transformation. In this dynamic, Huawei's Summit aimed at exploring how AI can foster inclusive, sustainable development and help shape the continent's future. In his opening speech, Shen Li, President of Huawei Northern Africa (North, West & Central Africa), emphasized the necessity of an integrated and collaborative approach: 'Moving forward, we will continue to collaborate with all parties across key pillars of AI development in policy, technology, ecosystem, and talent to accelerate intelligence and co-build a new Africa.' This call to action resonated strongly with Lacina Koné, Director General & CEO of Smart Africa, who underlined the importance of tailoring digital transformation to the continent's unique context. He stated, 'Let us deepen our roots —in policy, in people, in partnerships— so Africa may rise strong in the AI winds of change.' His remarks highlighted Africa's demographic advantage, noting that over 70% of its population is under 30, which brings creativity, adaptability, and resilience essential to steering the AI revolution. Further reinforcing this strategic vision, Mounir Soussi, Vice President of Huawei Northern Africa, stressed the market opportunities afforded by a customer-centric approach in a rapidly evolving digital era. He remarked, 'In this changing era, Inclusive AI develops new opportunities in Africa and Huawei will insist on being customer-centric, promoting intelligence across the continent.' His perspective underlined that at the heart of these transformative initiatives lies a commitment to delivering tangible benefits to communities and businesses alike. The Huawei Intelligent Africa Summit cast a spotlight on the role of robust New Infrastructure as the backbone of Africa's AI journey. During a dedicated session, Ahmed Talaat, CTO of Huawei Cloud Northern Africa, explained: 'In Africa, Huawei Cloud is committed to building an intelligent cloud foundation for the telecom industry and accelerating intelligence across industries with systematic innovation that encompasses AI for Cloud and Cloud for AI.' This strategic emphasis on integrated cloud solutions is designed to bridge digital divides and provide the secure, scalable infrastructure needed to support emerging AI applications. One of the key pillars of the Summit's theme, New Value, was brought to life through a powerful testimonial by Marouane Akrab, Head of Digital Center at Attijariwafa Bank. He noted, 'After laying the foundations for an effective governance and centralised data, Attijariwafa Bank has launched a strategic shift to turn data into a real performance lever. This second phase was marked by a rise in power of analytical tools, a better use of data, and acculturation of teams to use Data & AI.' His remarks clearly demonstrate how the strategic use of data and AI is creating measurable impact and unlocking performance gains, especially in the financial sector. Another key pillar of the Summit, New Ecosystem, was highlighted during a high-level panel that brought together a diverse group of stakeholders. The session underscored the vital importance of collaboration in the AI era, focusing on the urgent need to design inclusive, agile, and resilient frameworks. These are essential to support sustainable digital transformation across Africa and to fully harness AI's potential for long-term economic and social impact. By weaving together actionable insights and success stories with visionary leadership, the Huawei Intelligent Africa Summit 2025 has set a strong strategic agenda for the continent's digital future. Huawei reaffirms its commitment to partnering with stakeholders across Africa to build a smarter, more connected future where innovation is both advanced and inclusive.
Zawya
06-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
Kaspersky and Smart Africa forge strategic partnership to bolster cybersecurity in Africa
In a move to enhance digital security on the African continent, Kaspersky ( has signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Smart Africa. This landmark agreement is set to drive collaborative efforts aimed at expanding cybersecurity capabilities throughout Africa. The partnership focuses on building essential cybersecurity skills via training programs, including those offered by the Kaspersky Academy ( — an international educational venture established in 2010 with a mission to drive the best cybersecurity education to build a safer digital world. Another major focus of the partnership will be addressing gender disparities by supporting initiatives that empower girls and women in the fields of cybersecurity, STEM, and ICT, which is a continuation of Kaspersky's efforts aimed at empowering female professionals ( in IT and attracting more women in the field. In addition to human capacity development, the collaboration aims to standardise cybersecurity policies by pooling both organisations to create harmonised regional and national frameworks. This effort involves working closely with cybersecurity authorities, law enforcement agencies, computer emergency response teams, industry leaders, and other key stakeholders to ensure a unified approach to digital security. Moreover, the initiative is geared towards strengthening technological defenses. This includes establishing critical cyber infrastructures such as security operation centers and computer emergency response teams, as well as offering expert technical consulting to prevent and mitigate the effects of cybercrime. Lacina Koné, CEO of Smart Africa, commented: 'This MoU marks a significant milestone in our quest to secure Africa's digital future. By joining forces with Kaspersky, we are not only building essential cybersecurity skills and bridging the gender gap but also setting the stage for robust regional cooperation and state-of-the-art cyber infrastructure.' Eugene Kaspersky, founder and CEO of Kaspersky, noted: 'Our strategic partnership with Smart Africa is designed to help create a more secure cyberspace across the continent and beyond. We see this initiative as a commitment to empowering both individual users and organisations to ensure that everyone can navigate the digital world safely and with confidence." This partnership reflects Kaspersky's commitment to a collaborative approach in creating a more safe and secure digital space by building strategic partnerships helping to enhance efforts aimed at boosting the global cyber resilience. It also builds on the momentum of the recently established African Network of Cybersecurity Authorities (ANCA), a collaborative initiative designed by Smart Africa to bring together cybersecurity authorities from African countries to address the growing challenges posed by cyber threats and crimes. Together with Smart Africa's unwavering commitment to building a secure, inclusive, and digitally empowered continent, the joint cooperation is poised to address the evolving challenges of the cyber world and position Africa as a model of digital security innovation. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Kaspersky. For further information please contact: Nicole Allman INK&Co.( nicole@ Follow us: Facebook: X: Youtube: Instagram: Blog: About Kaspersky: Kaspersky is a global cybersecurity and digital privacy company founded in 1997. With over a billion devices protected to date from emerging cyberthreats and targeted attacks, Kaspersky's deep threat intelligence and security expertise is constantly transforming into innovative solutions and services to protect businesses, critical infrastructure, governments and consumers around the globe. The company's comprehensive security portfolio includes leading endpoint protection, specialized security products and services, as well as Cyber Immune solutions to fight sophisticated and evolving digital threats. We help over 200,000 corporate clients protect what matters most to them. Learn more at About Smart Africa: Smart Africa is an alliance of African countries, international organizations, and global private sector players tasked with advancing Africa's digital transformation agenda. Empowered by a bold and innovative commitment from African Heads of State, the alliance aims to accelerate sustainable socio-economic development on the continent and usher Africa into the knowledge economy through affordable access to broadband and the use of ICTs. With a vision to create a single digital market in Africa by 2030, Smart Africa brings together member states to accelerate the digitalization of the continent and create a common market. Launched in 2013 by seven African Heads of State, the alliance now has 40 member countries, representing over 1 billion people and over 50 private sector members committed to the vision and advancement of Africa.
