Huawei building a better connected Botswana
Ulla Setswalo | Friday April 24, 2015 16:06
BusinessWeek: Could you please give a brief description of Huawei Company?
Xu Liang: Huawei is a leading global information and communications technology (ICT) solutions provider, driven by customer-centric innovation and open partnerships. Huawei has established an end-to-end ICT solutions portfolio that gives customers competitive advantages in telecom and enterprise networks, devices and cloud computing.
BusinessWeek: When and why did you decided to establish yourself in Botswana?
Xu Liang: Huawei first entered the Botswana market in 1998. Botswana is of strategic importance in the eastern and southern African region. Huawei has always attached great importance to our operation in Botswana. The government policies here are also fairly transparent, so the business environment here is friendly. The government gives priority to ICT development in this country, which in the long run, will make contribution to the country’s sustainable development. The local company, Huawei Technologies Botswana (Pty) Ltd. was founded in 2005 and has accumulated 17 years of rich experience in Botswana market; serving more than 2 million people with its profound understanding of the local ICT environment.
BusinessWeek: What services and products do you offer?
Xu Liang: Huawei’s business consists of three major groups, namely; the carrier network business group, enterprise business group and consumer business group. Huawei is the major partner of Mascom for the launch of its 4G network here in Botswana.
Huawei has also established an end-to-end ICT solutions portfolio that gives customers competitive advantages in telecom and enterprise networks, devices and cloud computing. Apart from telecom infrastructure and services, Huawei also provides the most innovative ICT solutions for enterprises, and a range of consumer products including mobile phones, mobile broadband (MBB) devices and home devices to Botswana.
For carrier network business, we have very important cooperation with local telecom operators including BTCL, BoFiNet and Mascom. Our world-leading ICT equipment and solutions ensure telecom operators to provide quality services to their customers. For enterprise business group, Huawei has various solutions that can fit all social entities’ ICT needs, such as for banking, power, government and public sector, transport, big enterprises as well as SMEs.
BusinessWeek: How many branches do you have in Botswana?
Xu Liang: Huawei Technologies Botswana (Pty) Ltd. is located in Gaborone only. Other branches have not been set up in other parts of the country just yet. However, whenever there is a request from our customers, no matter where they need us; be it in the deep mountains or forests, or places hardly accessible, Huawei engineers will always arrive there in the first time.
BusinessWeek: Where can retail consumers get your products?
Xu Liang: Starting from this year, we will deliver our smart phones to the market in cooperation with Cell City. Everyone is welcome to visit the store and feel the extraordinary experience Huawei phones can bring to you including the recently launched P8 smartphone, which should be available locally by July.
In March, Huawei launched its first smart wrist watch, which will be launched in Gaborone at Cell City store at Airport Junction Mall soon.
BusinessWeek: Any new developments, expansions or forthcoming events happening soon?
Xu Liang: In Botswana, Huawei has sponsored Botswana’s first ever Cyber Security and Internet Summit. Our senior expert gave a keynote speech on how Huawei guarantees products and solutions comply with security standards and how we have taken measures to fight against cyber crimes. Huawei will host the safe city summit in Cape Town this month where many top experts and industry leaders will attend that event. We will carry out our flagship training programme called ‘Seeds for the Future’, to train Botswana students this year. We hope that through this initiative, we will nurture more talent for Botswana’s ICT industry. Botswana Innovation Hub has invited us to open a membership with their organisation and have given us an opportunity to have an office at their developing office park.
BusinessWeek: How has the introduction of 4G networks in Botswana helped or affected your business?
Xu Liang: The main telecom operators in Botswana including BTCL, Mascom and Orange are all providing 3G services. In February 2015, Orange launched its 4G service and now the public can go and get their first batch of 4G sim cards. Huawei as the world’s leading ICT solutions provider is the major supplier for Mascom’s 4G-network construction.
Huawei is now one of the main players working on the development of 5G technologies and it plans to spend $600 million on 5G wireless research and development from 2013 to 2018. It is estimated that 5G will be put into commercial use around the year 2020. Botswana citizens can expect that super experience by that time.
BusinessWeek: How many workers do you employ in Botswana?
Xu Liang: Of the 60 staff that Huawei employs, 40 are Botswana citizens, marking a localisation rate of more than 60%. For these local citizens, the company has been constantly carrying out training and skills transfer to them, so that they develop really fast. The local managers and engineers will become a precious asset to the long-term ICT development of this country.
BusinessWeek: Is Botswana progressing or regressing in terms of technological advancement?
Xu Liang: Botswana offers an open and transparent business environment and the country attaches great importance to innovation and technological advancement. This is why Huawei commits itself to the long-term presence and development here. Botswana has set up the Botswana Innovation Hub, which coordinates national innovation plans. We believe Botswana will make bigger strides in technological advancement. As a long-term investor in Botswana, we will share our training resources to cultivate more ICT talents for Botswana to make contribution to the technological advancement.
BusinessWeek: How does Huawei plan to maintain its top position?
Xu Liang: Technology evolves so fast nowadays. One day you do not innovate and you find yourself lagging behind others. Huawei has put Research and Development (R&D) as its core competitiveness and this is what ensures our industry global leading status. The real efficient products are those that understand your personal need and give you the best experience at an affordable cost and those that you are always willing to bring along with you. Huawei contributes the fast growth to our heavy focus on R&D. Every year, we invest at least 10% of our annual revenue into R&D and Huawei has invested more than $30.7 billion (P295 billion) in R&D over the past decade.