Prime
Huawei launches new innovation for SMEs
Left to right: CEO Infinity Computers Charles Musisi, Vice President Business Development Huawei Cloud Jacob Yang, Third Deputy Prime Minister Rukia Nakadama, State Minister for Trade in charge of Cooperatives Fred Gume, CEO Next Media Kin Kariisa, Managing Director of NMG-Uganda Susan Nsibirwa, Sunrise Xie Qiuxiang MD of Huawei Uganda and Director ICT Uganda Police Force Yusuf Ssewanyana, during the launch of Cloud enterprise innovation in Kampala yesterday. PHOTO | STEPHEN OTAGE
What you need to know:
- Cloud technology has the ability to provide scalable and flexible storage solutions, enabling businesses to efficiently store, access, and manage data in real-time from anywhere.
Huawei technologies has launched a programme aimed at on-boarding Small and Medium enterprises (SMEs) into the digital economy.
Speaking at the launch of the programme yesterday, Ms Sooma Mukyala Fouziya, the Public Relations manager of Huawei, said the initiative aims to support SMEs with different solutions to grow in their businesses so that in the long run, the country boasts of an intelligent economy, where all businesses are operating online.
“Huawei just launched the Huawei cloud start up programme in Uganda, which is giving support to SMEs. We are leaving no one behind. We will be able to give different solutions to grow your business. You must not be on the stock exchange and you should be less than two years old in business,” she said.
Ms Mukyala said unlike other cloud-service providers, Huawei has offices in Uganda where clients can seek redress when they encounter problems such as breaches in their data security. She said this demonstrates their commitment to all Ugandan businesses.
Ms Rukia Nakadama, the third deputy prime minister, who launched the programme, lauded Huawei Technologies for spearheading the initiative, saying it resonates with government’s Vision 2040 which recognises the role of digital transformation in creating jobs, stimulating innovations and boosting economic growth among SMEs.
“Digital technologies are essential for SMEs to stay competitive and overcome traditional barriers, allowing them to improve processes and reach new markets. Despite significant achievements, continuous efforts are necessary to further advance Uganda’s digital agenda,” she said.
State Minister for Trade-in-charge of Cooperatives Fred Gume urged entrepreneurs to embrace the programme, saying the country’s development agenda is focusing on digitalising the economy to minimise human contact.
“Time is gone for human contact. Let us use such opportunities to grow our enterprises. We are using technology to grow our enterprises. The good thing is that you can subscribe for the service and pay small of money,” he said.
He explained that cloud technology helps the entrepreneur track the performance of the business and reduces operational costs.
Citing his ministry which supervises 45,000 cooperative societies, he said technology has helped them cut operational costs and entrepreneurs can access the global market. He urged the entrepreneurs to take advantage of the internet and open up home-based businesses instead of searching for jobs.
For the past two years, Huawei Technologies Uganda Ltd is one of the major partners in the annual Top 100 Mid-Sized Companies Surveys. The initiative between audit firm KPMG and NMG Uganda, seeks to identify business excellence and celebrate the fastest growing mid-sized companies in the country.
For the last two years, the company has sponsored the technology forum to educate the Top 100 company survey participants about Cloud technology and cyber security.
Speaking among the panel of experts at the launch yesterday, Ms Susan Nsibirwa, the managing director of NMG Uganda, said as a company which produces a lot of content which requires storage, one of the biggest advantages of cloud technology, is the amount of storage space.
“If the Daily Monitor is 32 years old and yet it has been keeping archives for all those years, where do you keep that information? You need cloud technology. We have archived that information using cloud technology. Work is in real time, you access information in real time,” she said.
She added that as a leading business partner, NMG will work with Huawei using its different media outlets to educate the public about how the technology works and the efficiencies and benefits it brings to their businesses.
