Huawei Cloud has announced that it has expanded its presence in Africa with the addition of four new availability zones: three in Egypt and one in Nigeria. This expansion brings the total number of Huawei Cloud data centers in Africa to six, with two situated in South Africa.

Huawei Cloud notes the move strategically addresses latency issues and ensures data sovereignty for customers, meeting the growing demand for secure, high-performance cloud computing services in Africa.

According to Africa Analysis, the African cloud computing market is set to grow from R35 billion in 2023 to over R113 billion by 2028. Huawei Cloud believes it is meeting this demand for secure, high-performance services, with Steven Chen, managing director of Huawei Cloud South Africa saying, “Huawei Cloud will support businesses’ digital strategies with best-in-class services, enabling them to thrive in a competitive environment.”

Huawei Cloud’s Africa-wide expansion aligns with its broader strategy of delivering industry-specific solutions across finance, retail, telecommunications, and healthcare.

Impact of availability zones in Egypt

Huawei Cloud calls its expansion into Egypt “a significant milestone as it's the first public cloud in the region,” with the Cairo Region serving as a hub for North Africa.

Speaking at the Huawei Cloud Summit 2024 in Cairo, Egypt's Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Dr Amr Talaat, highlighted the growing importance of cloud computing in modern economies. “Cloud computing technologies have become a key pillar of the digital infrastructure in all developed countries. This enables government entities to optimise resources and ensure flexibility in computing demands,” he said.

Additionally, Huawei Cloud introduced its Arabic Large Language Model (LLM) at the summit. The automatic speech recognition service, designed to support over 20 Arabic-speaking countries, boasts an impressive 96% accuracy rate, according to the company.

Huawei Cloud also noted it will invest US$300 million over five years to enhance Egypt’s cloud services, supporting 200 software partners, 1300 channel partners, and training 10 000 developers, aligning with Egypt Vision 2030.

Impact of availability zones in Nigeria

Huawei Cloud's Nigeria launch brings about West Africa's first local cloud, with the company stating 15-millisecond latency with Tier 3+ data centers.

The launch event, themed “Leap Now with a Better Cloud,” was held in Lagos and aligned with Nigeria’s Data Protection Commission (NDPC) objectives to limit cross-border data transfers.

Nigerian data storage makes it easier for Nigerian enterprises to comply with local data sovereignty laws – a crucial requirement for industries such as fintech and government.

Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Dr Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, praised the initiative, stating, “It would largely help businesses and everyone, as It'll also enhance sovereignty. I encourage all to embrace these ideas as they set a transformative course for Lagos, Nigeria, and Africa at large.”

Huawei Cloud notes the local cloud availability’s impact is already evident. OPay, Nigeria’s leading fintech company, has reduced transaction latency from 130 milliseconds to just 15 milliseconds, vastly improving user experience during peak times. A top e-commerce platform has also leveraged Huawei Cloud’s solutions to enhance operational efficiency significantly.

Roc Bai, Vice President of Huawei Cloud Sub-Saharan Africa, highlighted the company’s three-action plan for Nigeria: supporting 1000 businesses in cloud adoption, partnering with 100 local firms, and enabling 5000 developers with Huawei’s open resources. Additionally, Huawei has invested heavily in talent development, training over 70 000 trainees who could become ICT professionals in Nigeria through its ICT Academy initiative.