Nokia has partnered with the African Telecommunications Union (ATU) with a bid to drive digital transformation and the knowledge economy for socio-economic development across the continent.
The two parties will leverage the power of telecommunications, including 5G networks, to connect the unconnected and identify innovative use cases, as well as business models.
Announcing the partnership in Nairobi-Kenya, Nokia further noted that the MoU will lay ground for both organizations to better help governments shape telecom policy, develop talent and promote inclusion and diversity. This includes women, as well as the underprivileged in both rural and urban areas.
Nokia’s Rajiv Aggarwal, Head of Central, East and West Africa Market Unit, further, stated, “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 technological expertise and insights on policy matters to positively impact socio-economic development in Africa.”
Co-signing the MoU with Mr. Rajiv, John OMO, Secretary General, African Telecommunications Union (ATU), said: “Our vision is to make Africa an 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.”
The MoU framework is guided by six tenets designed to facilitate this acceleration. These are:
Sharing of best practices on telecom technology trends and developments, identification of innovative industrial use cases toward the Fourth Industrial Revolution, recommendation on implementation of emerging technologies and business models, promotion of connecting the unconnected with broadband, development of emerging talent for digital innovation, promotion of inclusion and diversity .
Regionally, Nokia recently partnered with UN Women to promote inclusion and diversity in Middle East and Africa. Nokia is also working with UNICEF as part of a shared-value partnership in Kenya to connect schools with broadband and empower children in rural as well as disadvantaged urban areas. In November 2020, Nokia supported the Forge Academy in South-Africa with the launch of a fully inclusive artificial intelligence (AI) laboratory to help students become entrepreneurs in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the global digital economy.