China-Africa Development Fund holds seminar on digital infrastructure development and digital economy cooperation

JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 29 (People’s Daily Online) -- The China-Africa Development Fund (CADFund) organized a seminar on the theme of “China-Africa Digital Infrastructure Development and Digital Economy Cooperation” on Nov. 26. The seminar discussed the development trend for the China-Africa digital economy in the context of the epidemic and explored opportunities for cooperation, with the goal of better leveraging China's own digital economy and its advantageous capacity, empowering the development of Africa's digital economy through a "finance + digital" approach.

China Telecom assists online education in Africa through telecom infrastructure construction. （Photo by CADFund）

Song Lei, Chairman of CADFund, said that China-Africa collaboration in the digital economy has become an increasingly significant avenue for China-Africa cooperation. In order to carry out the spirit of the Extraordinary China-Africa Summit on Solidarity Against COVID-19 and the China-Africa Digital Innovation Partnership Program, CADFund has successfully collaborated with China Telecom to further expand investment into the telecom industry in Africa, thereby helping Africa's telecom infrastructure to undergo improvements by leaps and bounds. This in turn will create the conditions necessary for the development of remote education, telemedicine, and other areas of importance for people’s livelihoods, while responding more precisely to Africa’s own unique needs and improving its people’s sense of having reaped gains, realizing mutual benefits and win-win results for both China and the African continent.

According to He An, Deputy General Manager of China Telecom Global Limited, the digitalization trend in African countries is promising, and the upsurge in China-Africa collaboration is timely. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), China Telecom will firmly implement the Group's "Cloudification and Digital Transformation" strategy, striving to become the main driver behind Africa's informatization process, strengthening the backbone of Africa's interconnected digital infrastructure network, and serving Chinese-invested enterprises and local customers in Africa with "new models" and "new businesses." The firm will also contribute to the development of a "Smart Africa" and will lead Africa's digital revolution.

In a video presentation, Wang Zhiqin, Vice President of the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, said that Africa's two major trends towards modernization and digitalization are intertwined. There is a strong demand for digital infrastructure development, the digital transformation of industries, integration between digital and green technologies, digital innovation and entrepreneurship, digital anti-epidemic and post-epidemic recovery, and so on. The digital partnership between China and Africa is now at a critical juncture.

Representatives from around 10 companies, including Huawei, ZTE, H3C, HENGTONG OPTIC-ELECTRIC, TRANSSION, Didi, Kilimall, and Tospino, among others, took part in the seminar via video link and other means. China Telecom Africa Middle East, Fiberhome Technology, Ahadi, Amanbo, and XAG Technology have previously conducted business in Africa and conveyed their aim of assisting Africa's digital economy.

The CADFund and China Telecom signed a Memorandum of Cooperation during the seminar, which will help to enhance the development of China-Africa cooperative initiatives focused on the digital economy. The seminar also marked the launch of the "China-Africa Digital Economy Cooperation Entrepreneurs' Initiative," which is dedicated to developing innovative models to "strengthen industry integration cooperation, guide supply-demand matching, build digital access, and improve the development environment" in order to promote the development of digital infrastructure throughout Africa.