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From tech to talent: How Huawei is helping to build a strong ecosystem for the digital age

The global technology company is boosting tech capabilities of businesses in Singapore while developing a talent pipeline to seize new opportunities

Huawei is committed to building secure and trusted digital products and services. It is also a member of CSA’s (Cyber Security Agency of Singapore) SG Cyber Safe Partnership, helping local businesses and enterprises to strengthen their cyber security posture. PHOTO: HUAWEI

The Covid-19 pandemic may have accelerated the adoption of ICT (Information and communications technology) technologies in Singapore, but that has left vulnerable groups even further behind in the digital era. Huawei firmly believes that technological advancement should benefit everyone, regardless of race, gender, or economic status.

This article was written by Mr Foo Fang Yong, CEO of Huawei International.

No one should be left behind in today's digital world.

Over the past 20 years, Huawei has worked closely with local telecom operators to help Singapore build a world-class network infrastructure. As new technologies mature, cloud and AI capabilities will gradually be integrated into the infrastructure. Will individuals and businesses be able to keep up with the changes? How can we enable more Singaporeans to learn and deepen their digital skills? How do we help local businesses have a successful digital transformation? How can corporations play a part in helping Singapore to build a more resilient digital ecosystem? These are the questions we at Huawei ask ourselves these days.

Accelerating digital transformation

When it comes to digital transformation, Huawei is committed to be the best partner for local businesses, including Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups. Besides providing integrated ICT solutions and services to our customers, we also offer stable, reliable, secure and sustainable cloud services to help local businesses to go digital - and go global.

Huawei has been working closely with the Singapore government to support the nation's smart nation goals, including the provision of high quality and efficient public services to benefit Singaporeans.

In today's digital age, security and trust are crucial and essential. Huawei has always been committed to building secure and trusted digital products and services. It has joined CSA's (Cyber Security Agency of Singapore) SG Cyber Safe Partnership Programme as an advocate to help businesses, organisations, and enterprises in Singapore strengthen their cybersecurity posture.

Building a win-win digital ecosystem

Huawei launched DigiX Lab in Singapore - the first of its kind in the Asia-Pacific - in February 2021. The lab serves as an innovation hub for mobile developers and partners to experience the full range of HMS app development resources, including AI, AR and VR open capabilities, along with the latest devices. PHOTO: HUAWEI

Success does not happen overnight. The health of a nation's digital economy depends on a stronger public-private collaboration where industry players form and contribute to a robust and vibrant digital ecosystem.

Huawei has been working with more than 200 local suppliers and helping to build their digital capabilities.

In addition, Huawei has invested more than tens of millions of dollars to develop innovation labs OpenLab, AI Lab, and DigiX Lab in Singapore to provide open development and testing platforms for our industry partners, and jointly explore new industry innovations and applications to pave the way for new ICT technologies.

To have a sustainable digital economy, Singapore has been playing a proactive role in helping start-ups. Huawei has launched the Spark Programme to provide technical support, industry resources and capabilities to start-ups. It has attracted thousands of start-ups from more than 90 countries and partnered with more than 30 venture capitalists. We are happy to lend support to local start-ups with great potential like Scantist, UCARS, and AIDA Tech, and will help them explore opportunities to penetrate the Greater China market, the Asia-Pacific region and the rest of the world.

Cultivating local talents

In any organisation, talent is an important pillar of success. Huawei recognises the importance of talent development. We are committed to nurture the next generation of digital talents through various programs like Seeds for the Future Programme and the ICT Academy. We also provide on-the-job training, industry attachments and specialised courses for fresh graduates as well as mid-career talent. We are committed to cultivating Singapore's next cohort of trailblazers who are able to seize exciting opportunities regionally and globally.

At Huawei, we believe women are equally capable of driving technology innovation and we value our female employees. They have been playing a unique role and making important contributions to the company. Many of them have distinguished themselves and become outstanding leaders, such as our Chief Security Researcher, Ms Liu Fei, who was included in this year's Singapore 100 Women in Tech (SG100WIT) list.

Working Together for a Sustainable Future

The pandemic has changed the way we live and work. The demand for ICT technologies is increasing rapidly, and digitalisation will become a more pressing issue. Huawei will open more pathways to digital transformation, promote local innovation, and help Singapore to stay at the forefront of the digital world.

To tackle the climate change challenge globally, Huawei is taking firm actions to do our part to build a sustainable future. By leveraging on digital technologies and power electronics technologies, Huawei is committed to helping people and industries in Singapore benefit from clean solar energy, accelerating the transition to renewable energy. We look forward to working closely with local partners, and contributing to Singapore's Green Plan 2030.

Huawei Singapore's success can in part be credited to Singapore's relentless pursuit of world-class excellence. We have always believed that working with the industry and local ecosystem is the best way to achieve our shared objectives. While we continue countering the challenges posed by Covid-19, we are looking ahead with hope and confidence, to push the boundaries of innovation, to make Singapore a hub of endless digital opportunities, with lasting sustainability and purposeful impact.

An engineer by training, Mr Foo joined Huawei in 2007 and served as Vice President of Huawei Malaysia and Huawei Australia before being appointed CEO of Huawei International this year. He now oversees and manages the company's business in Singapore and Brunei.

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