Huawei Cloud Backs Nigeria Startups With $10M

Huawei Cloud has launched a program in Nigeria, pledging $10 million in cloud credits  to support 100 Nigerian startups for the next two years.

The commitment was announced at the Huawei Cloud Startup Summit in Lagos on April 3, 2024, where over 150 industry startups, venture capitals, and partners gathered to discuss startup innovation and digital transformation. This program aims to fuel innovation and growth by providing startups with access to advanced cloud resources and fostering a supportive environment.

In his keynote speech, Hugo Hu, Director of Huawei Cloud, called on Nigerian startups to jointly innovate and shape the future of Nigeria digital economy. He further highlighted the challenges faced by startups, including technology, funding, data security, and compliance, and stressed that embracing the cloud is key to accelerating innovation.

“Huawei Cloud is committed to providing an ecological platform for Nigerian startups, as well as enable startups get cost-effective cloud resource with ease, and reach business opportunities at a faster pace. We strongly believe Huawei Cloud is a better choice for Nigerian startups,” Hu stated.

Through its startup program, Huawei Cloud will provide cloud-native infrastructure, professional services, and up to $150,000 in cloud credits to each participating startup. This investment aims to reduce the cost of cloud services by 40 percent for startups in Nigeria and expose them to potential clients and investors in 177 countries.

Dotun Adekunle, Senior Vice President of Flutterwave, emphasized the significance of cloud services in enabling companies to compete globally.

“We wouldn’t run Flutterwave efficiently without being on the cloud,” Adekunle stated.

Huawei Cloud aims to onboard 10,000 startups worldwide by 2025. The platform has already successfully brought on board over 3,000 startups, with several hailing from the African continent.

According to Paul Adigu ,the Ecosystem Director of Huawei Cloud Nigeria, three key initiatives will be leveraged to achieve the startups’ program objectives — advanced cloud platform, startup talent development, and provision of business resources.

Huawei Cloud aims to build a cloud foundation for an intelligent world. It plans to launch a local cloud in Nigeria in 2024 and has already established 88 Availability Zones in 30 regions worldwide.