By Zainab Bakare
The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to building a digitally enabled economy, with Huawei Technologies Nigeria pledging continued support for the country’s ambition of becoming a $1 trillion economy through technology-driven growth.
The commitment was reaffirmed during a courtesy visit by Huawei’s management team to the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye, in Abuja.
According to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, the engagement aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s priority areas of sustainable economic growth, industrialisation, innovation, food security and improved governance.
Speaking at the meeting, Ambassador Enikanolaiye said Nigeria’s foreign policy is anchored on the 4Ds Framework—Demography, Development, Democracy and Diaspora—which he described as the foundation for strengthening economic diplomacy and attracting strategic investments.
He noted that Nigeria’s youthful population remains its greatest asset and urged Huawei to expand its operations, create more jobs, deepen technology transfer and support skills development for Nigerians.
The minister stressed that the Federal Government is leveraging innovation, industrialisation and digital diplomacy to diversify the economy and position Nigeria as a leading digital hub in Africa.
Huawei’s Managing Director, Dr. Jim Zhang, reaffirmed the company’s long-term commitment to Nigeria, saying digital transformation remains central to achieving the country’s $1 trillion economic target.
He highlighted Huawei’s investments in ICT infrastructure, smart technologies and digital services, describing Nigeria as one of the company’s key markets in Africa.
Huawei, which has operated in Nigeria since 1999, currently has branch offices in Kano, Ibadan, Enugu and Port Harcourt, with additional offices under construction in Calabar and Katsina.
The company also operates training centres in Lagos and Abuja, alongside an Innovation Centre, OpenLab, Service Centre and Local Cloud facility in Lagos.
Dr. Zhang said Huawei has trained more than 100,000 Nigerians in digital and ICT skills since 2018 and, under its LEAP Talent Development Framework, aims to increase that figure to 120,000 technology professionals by 2027.
He also highlighted the company’s contributions to Nigeria’s digital transformation through renewable energy projects, the development of a Tier-IV Data Centre, deployment of the country’s first local cloud platform, and expansion of 3G, 4G and 5G network infrastructure nationwide.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it will continue to strengthen partnerships with global technology firms such as Huawei to advance Nigeria’s digital diplomacy agenda, enhance innovation and accelerate inclusive economic growth.
