Huawei Technologies Company Nigeria Limited held an award ceremony at Sheraton Abuja to celebrate the achievement of some Nigerian students for their remarkable performance at the Huawei Global ICT Competition held in China, as well as launch and sign the MoU (between Huawei Technologies Company Nigeria Limited and National Information Technology Development Agency) for the 2019/2020 next edition.
The award and launch ceremony had in attendance the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Vice Chancellors and representatives from 30 Nigerian universities, Ministry of Communication and the Ambassador of the People Republic of China to Nigeria.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Director General, National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami) commended Huawei Technologies saying “I would like to express our gratitude to Huawei Technologies for your commitment in promoting ICT development in Nigeria. This initiative aligns well with one of our seven (7) pillars – the capacity building pillar which is in line with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration”.
Nigeria, at the heart of development, is playing a key role in representing Africa on the global scale of ICT knowledge and capacity building. With a growing youth population and rapid advancement in innovation and technology, Nigeria scales high and is noticeably being positioned on the world map for its ICT talents. In May, three Nigerian students emerged among the top three winners in the Global Final of the Huawei ICT Competition, held at the company’s headquarters in Dongguan, China, competing with 49 other teams and a total of 147 students representing 30 countries racing for the global trophy.
Signing the MoU between Huawei Technologies Company Nigeria Limited and National Information Technology Development Agency for the 2019/2020 next edition, Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), DG, NITDA, expressed the need for a renewed partnership saying “We look forward to a new relationship and partnership between NITDA and Huawei that will foster ICT for inclusive sustainable national development in Nigeria.”
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Communications, M.F. Istifanus, represented by the Director of ICT, Federal Ministry of Communications, Dr. Moni Udoh, applauded Huawei Technologies for increased partnerships with universities and colleges across Nigeria in the last twelve months which has resulted to “more than 55 MoUs signed with partners to be Huawei ICT Academies and giving more than 13,000 students opportunities to participate in the recently concluded Huawei 2018 – 2019 ICT Competition.”
“We appreciate the attention Huawei has paid to this program, by focusing not only on the students but also, building the skills and capacities of our Universities and lecturers. We strongly believe that the skills transferred through this programme will enhance the quality of our educational system and provide economic opportunities to individuals as well as the broader economic development of not only Nigeria but the whole of Africa.” She said on behalf of the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Communications, M.F. Istifanus.
The Ambassador of the People Republic of China to Nigeria, Zhou Pingjian, observed the growth Nigeria has experienced in the past 20 years since Huawei Technologies came into Nigeria. He said “twenty years ago, there were 27 thousand mobile phone owners in Nigeria. Today, that number soars to 17o million. Twenty years ago, for one minute talk in Nigeria, it would cost 1 US dollar, today, that same call costs 2 US cents. Twenty years ago, Huawei began knocking the door of Nigeria, today, Huawei grows with Nigeria as a most reliable business partner in Nigeria. We are proud of the Chinese Huawei, the Nigerian Huawei and the global Huawei.”
Tank Li, Managing Director of Huawei Technologies (Abuja Office), Nigeria, said “this year marks the 20th Year of Huawei operating in Nigeria, within that period, Huawei has made progressive achievements through both collaboration with the public and private sector in Nigeria.”
“Huawei through its many CSR programs have strived to reach many lives in Nigeria, especially the education sector. Some of these programs also include the Seeds for the future Program, where we send 10 students are sent to China for 2 weeks, all expenses covered by Huawei, which we have done for the past 2 years.”
“Huawei will continue to invest in this collaboration with universities, this number is expected to increase greatly within the coming months, and continuously supply excellent candidates to Huawei’s ICT talent eco-system. Huawei’s vision in Nigeria is to create an ICT talent Ecosystem that will form the foundation in the digitalization plan for the nearest future.”
Huawei launched its global ICT competition in 2015, and Nigeria joined in 2018. In Nigeria, the competition had over 13,000 students from more than 30 universities who participated. Overall, the 2018/19 event attracted more than 1,000 universities in over 50 countries around the world under the slogan “Connection, Glory and Future”. The total number of students participating globally was 80,000 including 28, 000 students from Sub-Saharan Africa.