MTN And Huawei Sign MoU On Improving Digtal Inclusion And Sustainable Development In Africa | Technology

MTN Group and Huawei signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on February 27 at MWC Barcelona 2023 to strengthen strategic cooperation in the field of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG).

During the summit held by the two parties at MWC Barcelona, ​​the MoU is in line with MTN’s Ambition 2025 business strategy and Huawei’s Corporate Sustainability Development (CSD) strategy, including the TECH4ALL initiative.

“Leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress can only be achieved through the power of partnership,” said MTN Chief Sustainability & Corporate Affairs Officer Nompilo Morafo. “Working with companies like Huawei, we can combine our technology and expertise to drive greater access to connectivity, digital skills and greener and more sustainable solutions to the benefit of all.”

“We believe digital technology will be an important force driving social development and making the world more inclusive and sustainable.” said Guo Ping, Chairman of Huawei’s Supervisory Board.

In terms of digital skills training, the Huawei DigiTruck project provides free training in digital skills to those in need, including in rural communities, the elderly, the unemployed, and girls and women. Converted from used shipping containers attached to trucks, the DigiTruck is a solar-powered mobile classroom equipped with laptops, smartphones and 4G connectivity.

Another project in the area of ​​digital skills training is the Huawei ICT Academy. It trains university students in ICT skills such as 5G, cloud computing, and AI. There are 1,900 Huawei ICT Academies in 110 countries, serving around 150,000 students every year.

MTN’s Skills Academy seeks to improve the relationship between digital skills training and job market requirements for the benefit of digital technology producers, consumers and innovators. The partnership seeks to accelerate efforts to reach more rural and remote communities and expand the portfolio of digital skills training available.

With a significant portion of the African population living in rural areas, MTN is committed to expanding its network to underserved communities and has set a target of 95% rural broadband coverage by 2025. MTN’s partnership with Huawei brings the company closer to its goal. The company intends to expand the number of collaborations and the types of partnership models it has implemented.

MTN and Huawei are partnering to deploy RuralStar, an affordable connectivity solution to provide online access to remote and rural communities. The solution overcomes the traditional barriers that make network connectivity in these scenarios impossible for operators and will increase collaboration between partners, following the steps of completing the first RuralStar proof of concept in Ghana in 2017.

In terms of reducing carbon emissions, Huawei will support MTN’s commitment to reduce its impact on the planet and achieve net zero by 2040. The partner will work to decarbonize the operator’s telecommunications infrastructure, including Radio Access Network (RAN) sites, transport networks, storage. , and data centers. The decarbonisation of this network will be achieved through a mix of energy efficiency technologies and the application of innovative green solutions.

MWC Barcelona 2023 will be held from February 27 to March 2 in Barcelona, ​​Spain. Huawei presented its products and solutions at stand 1H50 in Fira Gran Via Hall 1. Together with global operators, industry professionals, and opinion leaders, we dived into topics such as 5G business success, 5.5G opportunities, green development, digital transformation, and our vision of using business blueprint GUIDE to lay the groundwork for 5.5G and build on 5G success for greater prosperity. For more information, please visit: https://carrier.huawei.com/en/events/mwc2023.