Telecom
Huawei Gives Over 600 Students ICT Training Across Africa in 2021
Huawei has successfully trained more than 600 students through the “Seeds for the Future” program in 14 sub-Saharan countries covering emerging ICT technologies such as 5G, cloud computing, and AI, helping them get job ready for the digital economy era.
Seeds for the Future is Huawei’s global CSR flagship program. Launched in 2008, it aims to help nurture local talent, promote knowledge transfer, increase people’s understanding and interest in the ICT industry, and encourage countries and regions to participate in the digital community building.
By 2021, the program has been implemented in 131 countries and territories worldwide, with nearly 9,000 students participating. Since 2014, the program has been held in sub-Saharan African countries. So far, 25 countries in Africa, including Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya and Ghana, have participated in the training, which has so far benefitted more than 1,000 students.
In this year’s training, Huawei has paid more attention to bridging the gender divide in science and technology training. More than one-third of the total number of Seeds candidates were women.
According to the Mobile Economy in Sub-Saharan Africa 2020 report, released by the Global Association for Mobile Telecommunications Systems, sub-Saharan Africa is the fastest growing region in the world, and African countries have entered a rapid development of the digital economy era. In this process, ICT technologies are an important engine that drives countries’ development, and mastering of ICT technologies is the engine’s key.
Through programs such as Seeds for the Future, Huawei cultivates ICT knowledge and skills for local youth. During COVID-19 pandemic, the program took place via online learning, and in person where possible.
Students were offered the flexibility to access several ICT courses online at their own pace. They were invited to participate in science and technology roundtables, and interact with youth around the world in real time. Through 5G live broadcasts, students were able to join guided tours of Huawei exhibition halls and historic cultural sites in China.
Meanwhile, under the guidance of professional mentors from the Huawei’s Tech4Good program, they were encouraged to design solutions to solve developmental challenges facing eachof their countries, and realize the value of practical application of the theory they had learned.
Other highlights include: In Ghana, nine ICT training sessions were held in junior high schools, senior high schools and universities. Currently, the ICT training program is still under way. In Madagascar, it provided basic digital skills and training to more than 30 women.
Governments in sub-Saharan Africa have also given high interest to the project. The South African government has included a series of talent development initiatives, including Seeds for the Future, in its national digital economy master plan.
The heads of state of Uganda, Mauritius, and Malawi have highly praised Huawei’s talent development plan. The President of Mauritius, Prithvirajsing Roopun said Huawei’s project would help build a national ICT talent team, strengthen youth employment capabilities, and support the National Digital Mauritius 2030 Strategic Plan.
In the wake of increasing geopolitical tension, Cassava Technologies has unveiled its National Sovereign Cloud offering for African governments.
The solution, the company claims, will help the continent’s governments ensure data is kept on infrastructure that remains under local legal and operational jurisdiction.
According to the official announcement, made yesterday, the solution provides “secure, locally-governed digital infrastructure that enables the deployment of AI-enabled public services”.
The overarching solution encompasses cloud, cyber security, AI computing infrastructure, as well as local language AI models and skills support for governments.
The announcement comes amid increasing uncertainty over the hosting of sensitive national data on cloud services operated by foreign hyperscalers, which are subject to legal frameworks, such as the U.S. CLOUD Act. The CLOUD Act opens the door to allow American authorities to access data stored on the servers of US hyperscalers, wherever those servers are physically located.
Cassava has claimed separately that currently, “approximately 33% to 45% of the world’s data is hosted in the USA”.
The company added: “A sovereign cloud reduces exposure to extraterritorial laws, improves cyber resilience, and ensures that model weights and training data for public AI remain under national custody.”
The Africa Data Centres Association’s 2026 Economic Report states that “data sovereignty has evolved from a legal aspiration into a strategic policy lever”.
Ahmed El Beheiry, Group COO and Group Chief Technology and AI Officer, Cassava Technologies said: “Across Africa, governments are accelerating their digital transformation agendas and are increasingly focused on ensuring that data and digital infrastructure remain secure and sovereign.”
Announced at the Mobile Word Congress in Barcelona, this week, the Sovereign Cloud offering launch accompanied the launch of Cassava’s Cloud Partner programme.
The partner programme targets mobile network operators and system integrators across Africa to resell and distribute AI, cloud, and other digital services using Cassava’s infrastructure and technology platforms.
El Beheiry added: “We are expanding Africa’s sovereign AI ecosystem to build solutions that address the continent’s unique challenges while creating new opportunities for growth and digital inclusion.”
The programme offers partners access to NVIDIA Cloud Partner solutions, Cassava’s AI Factory, its own native AI solutions and its AI Multi-Model Exchange, which supports both Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini models.
Mazen Mroue, a non-executive director at MTN Nigeria Communications Plc, has resigned effective February 27, 2026, to prioritise other responsibilities within the MTN Group, the company announced in a Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) filing.
MTN Nigeria
The notice, signed by company secretary Uto Ukpanah, stated: “This is to enable Mr. Mroue to focus on other priorities within MTN Group Limited. The Board wishes to express its appreciation to Mr. Mroue for his immense service to MTN Nigeria and wishes him success in his future endeavours.”
Mroue joined MTN Nigeria’s board on June 1, 2022, bringing over 28 years of telecom experience. A veteran MTN executive, he previously served as CEO of MTN Uganda and MTN Liberia, non-executive director at MTN Cyprus, and held leadership roles at MTN Ghana.
Since February 2022, he has been MTN Group’s Chief Technology and Information Officer, overseeing technology strategy and governance. Earlier, as MTN Nigeria’s COO from August 2018 to January 2022, he also sat on the MTN Nigeria Foundation board.
The exit follows MTN Nigeria’s stellar 2025 results, posting a ₦1.70 trillion profit before tax—reversing a ₦550.3 billion loss in 2024 driven by forex woes—marking one of the telco’s strongest rebounds.
Google has rolled out support for Yorùbá and Hausa languages in its AI-powered Search features—AI Overviews and AI Mode—enabling millions of Nigerians to get quick answers, summaries, and conversational web exploration in their mother tongues.
The update forms part of Google’s push to cover 13 African languages, including Afrikaans, Akan, Amharic, Kinyarwanda, Afaan Oromoo, Somali, Sesotho, Kiswahili, Setswana, Wolof, and isiZulu, selected based on high search activity across the continent.
Now, a Kano student can ask complex questions in Hausa, while an Ibadan trader seeks business tips in Yorùbá—both receiving culturally nuanced AI responses via text or voice on Android, iOS, or web.
Taiwo Kola-Ogunlade, Google’s West Africa Communications Manager, said: “Building truly global Search requires nuanced local understanding. With Gemini-powered AI, we’ve made advanced capabilities relevant in Yorùbá and Hausa, so Nigerians converse naturally with Search in their mother tongues.”
To use: Open the Google app, tap AI Mode, and query in Hausa or Yorùbá for personalised guidance—breaking language barriers and making technology reflect Nigeria’s diverse identity.
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