Chinese technology giant, Huawei has unveiled a cloud program for Small and Medium Enterprises in Uganda in a bid to accelerate the growth of SMEs and startups in the country.
The programme aims to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with cloud services, technical support, and training to enhance their capabilities, equipping startups with the tools to drive business.
The launch of the programme was announced during the Huawei Cloud Enterprise Innovation and SME Summit held at Sheraton Hotel Kampala under the theme "Unleash the power of startups."
Speaking during the launch, the Managing Director for Huawei Uganda, Sunrise Xie said the program a new milestone for cloud services in Uganda.
“For over 20 years, Huawei has contributed to Uganda’s digital transformation and the cloud program is yet another way to drive digital transformation. We want to empower startups and SMEs across the country with the new program,”Xie said.
He said that since SMEs are key drivers of Uganda’s development, there is need to ensure they tap into the vast opportunities available.
“The Huawei Cloud programme will allowing startups to leverage Huawei's high-tech services in a world where cloud computing has become driving force for innovation.”
“The Huawei cloud is commitment to provide a platform to empower SMEs to innovate around the globe. We hope startups can obtain cost effective cloud computing services.”
The Next Media Group CEO, Kin Kariisa underscored the role of cloud computing for businesses.
“Cloud computing like what Huawei is proposing has helped many of us. For example, in media, we have a solution for streaming like the Afro Mobile which uses cloud computing. The amount of storage we need would be much but cloud computing solves it at minimal price,” Kariisa said.
He said that using cloud computing offer many advantages than investing in data centres which are expensive.
“Cloud computing is important for private businesses but very important for government entities. It will save taxpayers money by doing more for less, than having data centers in each government entity yet we can have one data centre for all.”
The third deputy Prime Minister, Lukia Isanga Nakadama hailed Huawei for contributing to Uganda’s digital transformation agenda.
“The Huawei Cloud program emphasizes the role of digital transformation in creating jobs and boosting economic growth especially for SMEs. With this new program, SMEs will now use digital solutions to grow as they continue to be pivotal in changing the country’s future,” Nakadama said.