Africa's first Huawei Innovation & Experience Center is launched on Tuesday in Sandton, Johannesburg. 5 million USD has been invested by Huawei into the Innovation Center, which is equipped with cutting-edge technologies like 5G/4.5G wireless communication, VR and 4K Video, Mobile Money solution, Smart Home solutions, Safe City solutions, Cloud Service, Data Center and wearable devices amongst others. It will also serve as an open lab to South African institutions of higher learning such as University of Johannesburg and Tshwane University of Technology.

"It is very exciting for us as industry leaders to provide a community environment for big players to witness the potential of our offerings, and for small, micro and medium enterprises to gain opportunities to share their ideas in spaces like gaming, video, and APP development etc., where they can test and advance their solutions and gain exposure to various partnership opportunities." says Li Peng, Huawei's President of the East and Southern Africa Region.

Showcasing futuristic products and solutions, the Innovation center will also serve as an incubation platform for upcoming ICT enterprises. According to the Cooperation Contact signed with South Africa's Department of Telecommunications and Postal Service (DTPS) on Tuesday, Huawei will work closely with the DTPS to fulfill the target of 1000 ICT talents trained by Huawei by 2021.

The Minister of the DTPS, Dr. SiyabongaCwele says that the department is very excited to be part of this innovative platform that Huawei has created "to give a feel of the potential we have as a sector and the goals we are working towards". "The Cooperation Contract signed between us is a start of bigger things to happen in the industry, and it is through such partnerships between the public and private sectors that we can achieve a better connected South Africa." He says.

The Chinese Ambassador to South Africa, TianXuejun appreciates Huawei by highlighting "The seed from last year's FOCAC is being harvested. ICT is truly the driving tool of any economies development. The Chinese government always encourages excellent enterprises from China like Huawei to work closely with South Africa to a achieve a win-win result."

Huawei has planned to launch ten global Innovation Centers around the globe. So far there are six other operational Innovation Centers. Among them are centers in Shenzhen (China), London (UK), Dusseldorf (German), Moscow (Russia), Warsaw (Poland), and Sao. Paulo (Brazil).