Huawei convened its annual South Africa Connect 2025 in Johannesburg under the banner “Accelerate Industrial Digital Intelligence for South Africa,” drawing more than 2,900 participants from government bodies, industry customers, and ecosystem partners.
Government Lays Out Four Pillars for Digital Inclusion
Solly Malatsi, Hon. Minister of the Department of Communications and Digital Technologies, emphasized that digital inclusion sits at the core of South Africa’s development strategy. He outlined four measurable ministerial priorities:
- Expanding Connectivity and Access to Devices
- Building a Digitally Skilled Society
- Unlocking the Productive Use of Technology
- Creating a Supportive Environment for Inclusion and Investment
These pillars are designed to foster a robust, innovative digital ecosystem that benefits every South African.
Huawei’s Commitment to National Progress
Will Meng, CEO of Huawei South Africa, affirmed in his welcome address that “digital transformation is more than technology, it’s the engine of national progress.” He reiterated Huawei’s mission to fast-track South Africa’s journey toward industrial digital intelligence, thereby driving innovation, enhancing productivity, and securing the country’s long-term competitiveness.
Cloud and AI as Catalysts for Industry
Joy Huang, Vice President of Huawei Cloud, highlighted Huawei Cloud’s dedication to AI-native services. “Through our ‘Cloud for AI’ and ‘AI for Cloud’ strategies,” she explained, “we aim to accelerate intelligent transformation across all South African industries.”
A Unified Architecture for Sustainable Transformation
Echoing this vision, Hong-Eng Koh, Global Chief Public Services Industry Scientist at Huawei, noted that isolated implementations are a thing of the past. He called for a long-term, unified architecture, encompassing both network and cloud, to guide the intelligence upgrade journey.
Drawing on Huawei’s global track record in digital transformation, he stressed that these proven practices offer concrete pathways for South Africa’s digital economic development.
Reference Architectures and Industry Solutions
Gene Zhang, CEO of Huawei South Africa Enterprise Business, unveiled Huawei’s All Intelligence strategy, which leverages:
- A comprehensive reference architecture
- Four enablement models
- Over 200 industry-specific solutions
These tools are designed to help sectors ranging from manufacturing to finance adopt digital and intelligent operations more swiftly.
Ecosystem Collaboration and Partner Empowerment
Peter Zhang, Vice President of Global Partner, Commercial & Distribution (Enterprise Sales), reiterated Huawei’s “Partners + Huawei” approach in the government and enterprise markets. With over 1,400 local partners in South Africa, Huawei is committed to increasing investment and support.
Through more than 3,000 training courses across 22 technical domains, Huawei also aims to develop 50,000 ICT professionals in the region by 2028.
Customer Success Stories
At the conference, Jonas Bogoshi, CEO of BCX, along with representatives from government, transportation, electric power, finance, and ISPs, shared their own digital-transformation successes—demonstrating the tangible benefits of intelligent, data-driven operations.
A 26-Year Legacy “In South Africa, for South Africa”
For over 26 years, Huawei has provided leading ICT infrastructure alongside talent-development and innovation platforms to advance South Africa’s digital economy. Looking ahead, Huawei will continue to collaborate closely with customers and partners, tailoring solutions to real-world scenarios and jointly cultivating a thriving digital ecosystem.
Conclusion
This year’s Huawei South Africa Connect underscores the critical role that industrial digital intelligence—fueled by cloud, AI, and unified architectures—plays in South Africa’s development. Network-switch.com believes that aligning government priorities with scalable, partner-driven solutions lays the foundation for sustainable growth and competitiveness.
As a professional third-party distributor and reseller, we deeply value partnerships that drive innovation and inclusivity. We are grateful to collaborate with industry leaders like Huawei and the entire South African ecosystem to accelerate the country’s digital transformation journey.