Two recent deals in Sierra Leone and Malawi underline the continuing role of Chinese telecommunications in general, and tech giant Huawei in particular, in the ongoing digital development of the African market.
The Government of Sierra Leone has signed a US$50 million agreement with Chinese state-owned global trading company and engineering firm China National Technical Import & Export Corporation to establish a SMART Sierra Leone Project.
As news service the Sierra Leone Telegraph explains, the three main objectives of the SMART Sierra Leone Project are: to expand internet connectivity to over 400,000 previously unconnected citizens; to establish national data centres to manage and protect sovereign data; and to enhance security measures around critical state infrastructure in the capital, Freetown.
There has also been an agreement with Huawei Group for a Digital Village Project, which will be based in Tormabum, in the south of the country.
The aim of this project is to provide farmers and community members with access to vital online information that will improve agricultural yield and expand market opportunities.
A similar project is to be undertaken by Malawi, which has announced plans to launch a Smart Village Initiative, again working with Huawei. This effort, according to the government, seeks to bring digital transformation to rural areas across the country, improving connectivity and access to digital services.
An aim of the plan is to establish technical training centres in rural areas to provide young people with necessary digital skills such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and smart agriculture solutions.
The Smart Village Blueprint, which serves as the project’s foundation, is intended to be a tool for improving access to the internet in rural and isolated communities.
