Huawei’s sixth annual Editors Xchange in Johannesburg brought delegates together under the theme “Ecosystems That Scale the Future” to explore how intelligent, integrated platforms are advancing South Africa’s digital development.
Speakers from Huawei, government and business unpacked the shift from infrastructure as hardware to infrastructure as an enabler, where cloud, AI and collaborative platforms become the backbone of inclusive growth.
In his opening address, Huawei South Africa Deputy CEO Charles Cheng emphasised the human purpose behind technology.
“Digital ecosystems matter insofar as they enable a better, more fulfilling life,” he said. “They must be interconnected, adaptive and built to scale.” He affirmed Huawei’s commitment to this vision: building cloud services that scale securely, networks that connect intelligently and AI platforms designed for trust and interoperability.”
This foundation came vividly to life in a keynote by Diego Han, Director of Eco-System Development of Huawei Cloud Sub-Saharan Africa. He shared a real-world example from Inner Mongolia, where a fleet of 100 autonomous electric mining trucks now operates at the Yimin open-pit coal mine. These trucks are powered entirely through a digital ecosystem using 5G, cloud and AI.
“This is the point at which infrastructure starts to think,” Han said. “Sensors, platforms and processing power all converge to enable intelligent decision-making across the value chain, without human drivers, with enhanced safety and efficiency.”
Han explained that this approach moves beyond connectivity. “When we speak of Everything as a Service, we mean co-creating scalable, intelligent platforms with partners. It’s about helping our customers shift from infrastructure to insight, and from data to possibility.”
Huawei’s decision to run its own public cloud, was key to building the transformation expertise it now shares globally. He added that 5G, cloud and AI could help modernise South Africa’s mining sector and unlock digital growth.
Representing the public sector, Professor Busani Ngcaweni, Principal of the National School of Government, spoke on the complexity of decision-making in a State undergoing digital change. He highlighted that transformation depends on thoughtful, forward-looking choices that enable public value at scale.
“In government, we are not just procuring hardware or software. We are investing in what I call brainware, the culture, skills and leadership needed to use technology wisely,” he said.
Ngcaweni discussed the trade-offs institutions face when evaluating competing technologies and navigating vendor ecosystems. These choices shape service delivery, citizen trust and long-term institutional resilience.
He cited South Africa’s pandemic-era rollout of social relief grants as an example of ecosystem success. “The breakthrough didn’t come from new tools; it came from the decisive use of existing USSD platforms. The clarity of the decision is what made the breakthrough possible,” he said.
Ngcaweni cautioned against digital procurement that outpaces a department’s ability to deliver. “Too often, we invest in solutions misaligned with our needs. True transformation is driven by insight and public purpose. Ecosystems must be designed for meaningful public engagement, when people can access and use the systems that govern their lives, transformation becomes real, he said.”
The theme of access and real-life application was deepened by Tania Joffe, Principal and Founder of Unu Health, who illustrated how intelligent infrastructure is already reshaping lives.
“There is no business that will be untouched by the shifts taking place now,” she said. Unu Health uses AI to expand access to essential primary healthcare in underserved communities, including mobile facial scans that detect blood pressure, oxygen levels, and pulse, and AI-driven tools that support diagnostics and patient monitoring.
“South Africa has a two-tiered healthcare system. AI can help us bridge that; however, success depends not just on algorithms, but on access. You need smartphones, connectivity, and trust in the system to make the promise of digital health real.”
Joffe likened the future of healthcare to vehicle diagnostics. “We expect clear, data-led answers when servicing a car, why not in healthcare? We already have the tools, data, and intelligence to start making that a reality.”
She highlighted an example of a Large Language Model (LLMs), a digital twin of the target market, which is being used as a means of providing greater insight to the unmet needs that must to be prioritised to give patients greater agency over their health but stressed that responsibility and infrastructure equally need to be prioritised. “This is a moment of real possibility, but only if we’re intentional about building systems that protect data, empower people, and deliver equitable care at scale.”