Huawei has launched the first Huawei Innovation & Experience Center on Tuesday, July 19, in Sandton, Johannesburg, in South Africa, the Global Times reported.
The company also plans to launch ten global innovation centers around the world with six other centers already operational in Shenzhen (China), Moscow (Russia), Dusseldorf (Germany), London (UK), Warsaw (Poland), and Sao Paulo (Brazil).
According to the report, the center, worth $5 million, is equipped with cutting-edge technologies that include cloud service, 5G/4.5G wireless communication, mobile money solution, VR and 4K Video, smart home solutions, safe city solutions, data center and wearable devices, among others.
The center was established to serve as an open lab to South African institutions of higher learning such as University of Johannesburg and Tshwane University of Technology.
"It is very exciting for us as industry leaders to provide a community environment for big players to witness the potential of our offerings, and for small, micro and medium enterprises to gain opportunities to share their ideas in spaces like gaming, video, and APP development etc., where they can test and advance their solutions and gain exposure to various partnership opportunities." Li Peng, Huawei's President of the East and Southern Africa Region, said.
The facility will also be used as an incubation platform for future ICT companies as it showcases innovative products and solutions.
Under the cooperation pact signed between Huawei and South Africa's Department of Telecommunications and Postal Service (DTPS), about 1000 ICT students will be trained the Chinese company by 2021.
DTPS minister Dr. Siyabonga Cwele said that the Huawei platform showed them "a feel of the potential we have as a sector and the goals we are working toward."
"The Cooperation Contract signed between us is a start of bigger things to happen in the industry, and it is through such partnerships between the public and private sectors that we can achieve a better connected South Africa," Cwele added.
Chinese Ambassador to South Africa Tian Xuejun praised Huawei for its initiative. He said: "The seed from last year's FOCAC is being harvested. ICT is truly the driving tool of any economies development. The Chinese government always encourages excellent enterprises from China like Huawei to work closely with South Africa to achieve a win-win result."