China’s ICT infrastructure projects promoting digitisation in Nigeria
Realising the transformative powers of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the globalising order and the digital age, China embarked on a massive project to enhance the skills of Africans and Nigerians, in particular, to become professionals in the field of ICT as the most valuable assets in Nigeria’s journey towards a digitally-driven future.
The Nigerian telecommunications sector has attracted over $75.6 billion in investments, contributing a substantial 15 per cent to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The rapid growth of the ICT industry presents vast economic and societal opportunities. Nevertheless, according to the observations from Engr.
Gbenga Adebayo, the Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria, Nigeria is losing the brightest and best hands in the industry, especially the ICT sector. In 2022 alone, over 2,000 ICT professionals left Nigeria. If this trend continues, by 2030, the telecommunications industry in Nigeria could find itself in dire straits.
In this pivotal moment, Huawei Technologies Company Nigeria Limited has been actively engaged in nurturing ICT talent in Nigeria cooperating with government, industries and academies together. More than 50,000 individuals in Nigeria have benefited from Huawei’s multiple ICT talent initiatives. These programs have played a vital role in building the country’s digital capabilities and empowering the workforce with the skills needed for the evolving digital landscape.
The ICT for Change program offered E-Government, Cyber Security, 5G, Cloud Service, Big Data and AI training to over 3,000 federal government civil servants. The engineering training program, to upskill ICT workforce to better innovate for development of ICT engineers in Nigeria, is devoted to cultivating Nigerian ICT talents with the total audiences hitting 13,399.
Also, the Chinese President Xi Jinping’s pledge during the Johannesburg Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2015, to implement satellite television for 10,112 African villages, the government of China has undertaken StarTimes to drive that process.
Each village is aided with two StarTimes Projector TVs, one 32-inch Digital TV set, and 20 DTH decoders with satellite dishes. Projector TVs and Digital TV sets are equipped with solar power systems and DTH access units. The Projector TVs and Digital TVs set are available in the public area of the village, like school or youth development committee, which allows all villagers to enjoy the wonderful digital TV programs of 20 channels, including the national station, local channels and international channels.