MTN and Huawei Sign MoU on improving digital inclusion and sustainable development in Africa

BARCELONA, Spain, March 2, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MTN Group and Huawei signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on February 27 at MWC Barcelona 2023 to strengthen strategic cooperation in the field of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG).

Signed at a summit held by the two parties at MWC Barcelona, the MoU is aligned with MTN’s business strategy Ambition 2025 and Huawei’s Corporate Sustainability Development (CSD) strategy, including its TECH4ALL initiative.

“Leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress can only be achieved through the power of partnerships,” said MTN Group Chief Sustainability & Corporate Affairs Officer Nompilo Morafo. “Working with companies like Huawei, we can pool our technologies and expertise to drive greater access to connectivity, digital skills and greener and more sustainable solutions to the benefit of all.”

"We believe that digital technology will become an important force driving social development and making the world more inclusive and sustainable," said Guo Ping, Chairman of the Huawei Supervisory Board.

In the area of digital skills training, the Huawei DigiTruck project provides free training for those most in need, including people in rural communities, the elderly, unemployed youth, and girls and women. Converted from a used shipping container mounted on a truck, DigiTruck is a solar-powered mobile classroom equipped with laptops, smartphones, and 4G connectivity.

A second project for enhancing digital skills is Huawei ICT Academy, which trains university students in ICT skills such as 5G, cloud computing, and AI. There are currently 1,900 Huawei ICT Academies in 110 countries, serving around 150,000 students a year.

MTN's Skills Academy seeks to boost the link between digital skills training and job market requirements to benefit producers, consumers, and innovators of digital technologies. The partnership with Huawei seeks to accelerate efforts to reach even more rural and remote communities and broaden the portfolio of available digital skills training. 

With a significant portion of Africa's population living in rural areas, MTN is committed to expanding its network to underserved communities and has set a target of 95% rural broadband coverage by 2025. MTN's partnership with Huawei gets the company closer to its goal. The company intends to expand the number of collaborations and the types of partnership models it has in place.

MTN and Huawei are collaborating on deploying RuralStar, an affordable connectivity solution for providing online access to remote and rural communities. The solution overcomes traditional barriers that make network connectivity in such scenarios unviable for carriers, and will extend collaboration between the partners, following the completion of the world's first RuralStar proof-of-concept in Ghana in 2017.

In terms of reducing carbon emissions, Huawei will support MTN's commitment to minimizing its impact on the planet and achieving net zero by 2040. The partners will work on decarbonizing the operator's telecommunications infrastructure, spanning Radio Access Network (RAN) sites, transport networks, storage, and data centers. The achievement of network decarbonization will be done via a mix of energy efficiency technologies and the application of innovative green solutions.

About Huawei TECH4ALL

TECH4ALL is Huawei's long-term digital inclusion initiative and action plan. Enabled by innovative technologies and partnerships, TECH4ALL is designed to help promote inclusion and sustainability in the digital world.

For more information, please visit Huawei TECH4ALL website at https://www.huawei.com/en/tech4all

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About the MTN Group

Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a leading emerging market operator with a clear vision to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world to our customers. We are inspired by our belief that everyone deserves the benefits of a modern connected life. The MTN Group is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in South Africa under the share code 'MTN'. Our strategy is Ambition 2025: Leading digital solutions for Africa's progress.

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