Nokia has signed a deal with the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) to leverage industrial 5G, and other technologies, to drive the Industry 4.0 movement on the continent, as well as connectivity in general. The pair have a stated objective to “shape policy, develop talent, and promote inclusion and diversity”.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) sets out to “drive digital transformation and the knowledge economy for socio-economic development” in Africa. A statement from Nokia talks about “innovative use cases… [and] business models”.
The MoU framework covers six tenets, around: sharing telecoms best practices on trends and developments; identifying Industry 4.0 use cases; recommending new tech implementations; bridging the digital divide; developing emerging talent; and promoting inclusion and diversity, with mention of women and the underprivileged.
Rajiv Aggarwal, head of central, east and west Africa for Nokia, said: “We remain keen on supporting Africa’s digital transformation journey and by collaborating with the ATU, we strengthen this commitment. We will leverage our global technology expertise and insights on policy matters to positively impact the universal socio-economic development in the continent.”
John Omo, secretary general of the ATU, said: “Our vision is to make Africa a full and active participant in the global information and knowledge society by enabling universal access to ICT systems and services across Africa. Collaboration with a global industry leader such as Nokia is therefore crucial in this regard and will help us accelerate towards a digital transformation and knowledge economy.”
Nokia recently partnered with UN Women to promote inclusion and diversity in the Middle East and Africa, and with UNICEF to connect schools in Kenya. Nokia supported the Forge Academy in South-Africa with the launch of an artificial intelligence (AI) laboratory to help students become Industry 4.0 entrepreneurs.
