Huawei recently hosted the prestigious Regional Finals of its 2024/2025 ICT Competition and Summit at Huawei Office Park in Johannesburg, bringing together technology talent, educators and policy makers from across sub-Saharan Africa in a celebration of digital innovation excellence.
The event was attended by the winning student teams, their instructors, stakeholders from academic institutions across the region, and key government partners, including Dr Nobuhle Nkabane, South African Minister of Higher Education and Training, who delivered the keynote address.
“Digital skills are one of the most critical skills that are desperately required in Africa and governments cannot achieve this without the involvement of private partners like Huawei. I congratulate Huawei for its commitment to support skills development in South Africa which is perfectly aligned with our Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP) as a country driving inclusive economic growth and job creation, reducing poverty and tackling the high cost of living,” she said.
“We hope that in the future we can continue to have more far-reaching cooperation with Huawei in talent training, smart campus construction and other projects. Together we’ll equip South Africa’s youth not just with formal qualifications but with skills that will enable them to make meaningful contributions to the development of our country.”
The competition showcased remarkable talent across network, cloud, computing, and AI innovation tracks, with teams from Tanzania, Uganda, Madagascar, Ghana, Kenya, and Nigeria receiving awards for their outstanding performances. Kenya dominated the grand prizes, securing top honors in both computing and cloud categories, the latter achieved by an all-women team.
Meanwhile Nigeria took home the grand prize for network excellence, and Uganda secured the grand prize in AI innovation. Additionally, South Africa’s cloud team took home the ICT Future Star Award.
Opening the ceremony, Yang Yongpeng, Director of Huawei Southern Africa Region Human Resource Department, emphasised Huawei’s commitment to bridging the digital divide in Africa: “The potential of the African digital economy is enormous and it is our common responsibility to ensure more people enjoy the dividends of digital technology.
“At Huawei, we will continue to live up to our commitment for Africa and build closer partnerships with African governments, institutions of higher learning, and enterprises to promote digital talent development programs for Africa’s digital transformation.”
One student of this year’s ICT Competition stood out among all competitors. Beverlyne Ndombi, a fifth-year electrical and telecommunications engineering student from the Kenyan team, received the Most Excellent Student award for achieving the highest examination scores in this year’s Regional Finals. During acceptance of her award she noted that the competition had not only challenged her theoretical foundations but also empowered her to translate classroom learning into practical, real-world applications.
“Throughout this process, I sharpened my skills in cloud, big data and AI, earning my professional certificate in HCIP AI during exam preparation. But this journey hasn’t just built my technical abilities, it has strengthened my confidence, taught me how to think critically under pressure, and reinforced the importance of perseverance,” she said.
The event also featured a high-level signing ceremony where Huawei entered into a three-year Memorandum of Understanding with Kenya’s Ministry of Education. The partnership aims to empower TVET institutions across Kenya by enhancing ICT infrastructure, fostering digital talent, and bridging the skills gap in the technology sector. The MoU was signed by Dr Esther Muoria, Principal Secretary for Kenya’s Ministry of Education, State Department for Technical, Vocational Education and Training, and Xu Yongbo, Director of Huawei Southern Africa Strategy & Marketing Department.
“Across Africa, the integration of ICT learning has been recognised as a catalyst for skills development, innovation, and economic transformation. It is through structured training, competitions, and industry-aligned programmes that students are being prepared to navigate and excel in this dynamic landscape. It is therefore a proud honour for me to join this auspicious occasion to celebrate the remarkable achievements of young ICT talent, whose dedication and excellence continues to shape the digital future of the African continent,” said Dr Muoria.
A highlight of the summit was a panel discussion on the landscape of digital talent in Southern Africa, featuring educational experts including Ephraim Munene (Technical Director, Ministry of Education, Kenya), Prof. Idris Muhammad Bugaje (Executive Secretary, National Board of Technical Education, Nigeria), Gugu Sema (4IR Committee Chair, MCIT SITA, South Africa), and Sharan Gouda (Partner Development Specialist, Huawei).
During the panel, Sharan Gouda provided insights into Huawei’s approach to developing digital talent: “Globally we have a huge gap in terms of digital skills or digital talents — more than 10 million. Huawei’s purpose is to build a robust talent ecosystem to support the rapid growth of industries. We prioritise the cultivation and transformation of ICT talent skills through practical experience.”
Additionally, Kenneth Igwe, Talent Development Manager/Service Delivery Project Manager (FSI), at Huawei Technologies, presented an in-depth case study of Nigeria’s talent ecosystem, highlighting its successful partnership with Huawei and the achievements through the ICT Competition and ICT Academy that led to two Nigerian teams winning grand prizes at last year’s global final in Shenzhen, China.
Since the inception of the ICT Academy in 2013, Huawei has partnered with more than 3 000 universities around the world to build Huawei ICT academies, covering more than 110 countries and cultivating more than 1.1 million students. To date, Huawei has established 500 ICT academies in the South Sahara African region, with more than 35 000 students. In 2024, ICT Academy students earned nearly 500 Huawei career certifications, while 550 students are working either for Huawei or Huawei Partners.
This year’s regional grand prize-winning teams will represent Sub-Saharan Africa at the Global Finals in Shenzhen, China in May 2025, where they will compete against the world’s best ICT talent. The teams are from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Madagascar and Nigeria and Ghana.