By Chisom Nwatu
The potential of 5G technology to enable economic growth and promote social inclusion again came to the fore at the just concluded second edition of the Zenith Tech Fair held at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos.
Chris Lu, managing director, Huawei Tech Nigeria, said the fifth generation of network technology can help accelerate development and improve efficiencies in diverse sectors of the Nigerian economy.
In a presentation at the Zenith Tech Fair titled “5G Opportunities in Nigeria”, Lu described 5G as the next generation of mobile internet connectivity that would impact the economy and transform lives.
He emphasized that with 5G, easy connectivity and computing are poised to become the bedrock of Nigeria’s digital economy.
“We remain absolutely committed to innovation, investment, customer-centricity, and would continue to introduce competitive products and scenario-based solutions. And we are dedicated to connecting every person, every family, and every organization,” he said.
Emphasising 5G technology advantage for the maritime and mining sectors, Lu stressed the need for stakeholders to embrace the technology in order to enhance operational efficiency for ports, improve transport and logistics infrastructure, and the mining processes.
Lu also urged businesses and government to now focus more on the future by taking advantage of the huge opportunities 5G provides as it would not only help to improve efficiency but also assist in unleashing productivity.
Speaking further on other opportunities the 5G technology brings, he noted that Huawei has put an infrastructure strategy in place to build intelligent connections and redefine computing that would achieve system-level competitiveness and excellence.
While commenting on its footprint in Nigeria’s financial sector, he explained that the company has established a strong presence in Nigeria by working with local telecom operators to establish network connections with government, financial, and energy enterprises, while also leveraging its solutions to facilitate digital transformation in various industries.
“We are expanding our financial network to provide financial services to the public. We hope we can draw on our years of experience in mobile finance to help Nigeria’s banking sector and complete the transformation of mobile finance and bring benefits to more people,” Lu said.
“We have established comprehensive strategic cooperation with more than 80 large banking, insurance and securities institutions around the world, becoming a reliable strategic partner for the digital transformation of finance,” he said.
He said 5G technology will be able to assist businesses in their innovations, create smarter and more efficient manufacturing and easily enhance processes in governance.
Highlighting other benefits of deploying 5G, Lu stated that it has the potential to provide faster data speed and carry a massive amount of data for a large number of simultaneous users in high-density locations such as airports and urban centres.
Over 5,000 participants and 126 exhibitors cutting across diverse industries that include energy and gas, 60+ ICT companies, beverage companies, and manufacturers were present at the fair.
