Information and communication technology (ICT) group Huawei aims to train another 150 000 people in sub-Saharan Africa in ICT skills over the next three years.

This follows the company’s training of more than 120 000 people in the region over the past 26 months, exceeding its initial target by 120% and completing the initiative ten months ahead of schedule.

With a pressing need to equip talent in sub-Saharan Africa with digital skills, Huawei senior VP and public affairs and communications president Jeff Wang outlines the company’s approach to inclusive, systematic and future-oriented talent development.

Wang was speaking at the Leadership, Employability, Advancement and Possibility, or Leap, Summit 2024: ICT Talent and Sustainable Development for Sub-Saharan Africa, which was co-hosted by Huawei and the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) in Shanghai on June 28.

“Huawei launched the Leap digital talent development programme in sub-Saharan Africa in 2022. After more than two years of development, we are glad to see that so many people have benefited from it.”

According to Wang, the programme aims to foster strong digital leadership and a skilled ICT workforce, build a digital talent pool and promote digital literacy among citizens. It includes a wide range of activities from ICT training and certification courses to government digital capacity building and ICT skills competitions.

The World Economic Forum indicates that more than one-billion people around the world need to be upskilled or reskilled by 2030, while the International Finance Corporation estimates that over 230-million jobs in sub-Saharan Africa will require digital skills by 2030.

“We have made much positive progress in talent development across African countries, but this would not have been possible without the joint efforts of government agencies, academia, and industry,” adds Huawei sub- Saharan Africa president Hover Gao.

Leap is helping Africa build a pool of digital talent, boost its digital economy, bridge the digital divide and boost and drive inclusive development, says Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Department of African Affairs Minister Counsellor He Hongyan, emphasising the importance of Chinese-African talent cooperation as outlined about two years ago at the China-Africa Cooperation 2035.