AI could add R1-trillion to South African economy, says Huawei

South Africa’s ability to capture the economic benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) will depend on whether it can close infrastructure and skills gaps, Huawei says, while calling for stronger partnerships between government, businesses and technology providers.

The Chinese multinational technology company said AI could contribute between R1-trillion and R1.4-trillion to South Africa’s economy by the end of the decade and create up to 400,000 jobs, but warned that widespread adoption would require investment in digital foundations, data capabilities and skills.

The importance of collaboration was a central theme at Huawei South Africa Connect 2026 in Johannesburg last week.

Speaking at the event, communications and digital technologies minister Solly Malatsi called for closer cooperation between the public and private sectors to expand participation in the country’s digital economy, highlighting connectivity and affordable devices as immediate priorities.

“We have a responsibility to ensure that we don’t only view AI as a threat to be feared, nor as a trend to be followed lightly. Instead, we should see it as one of the greatest opportunities of our time to solve some of our most pressing developmental challenges,” said Malatsi.

Huawei said collaboration with local partners would be central to scaling AI adoption across industries, highlighting projects with South African companies including BCX, Altron, Gijima and CoCre8 focused on areas such as digital twins, smart retail, connected healthcare and paperless government.

Large-scale deployment of artificial intelligence cannot be built without solid digital infrastructure. As proven by global practices, developing economies seeking to advance intelligence must gradually shore up foundations including networks, data and industry digitalisation.

—  Huawei South Africa CEO Will Meng

The company outlined a three-stage approach to AI readiness, arguing that countries first needed to build connectivity through “informatisation”, then use data more effectively through digitalisation, before reaching the intelligence stage, where AI can generate new economic value.

Huawei South Africa CEO Will Meng said countries needed to strengthen these digital foundations before AI could deliver economic value.

“Large-scale deployment of artificial intelligence cannot be built without solid digital infrastructure. As proven by global practices, developing economies seeking to advance intelligence must gradually shore up foundations including networks, data and industry digitalisation,” said Meng.

Meng also highlighted South Africa’s participation in the newly established World AI Cooperation Organisation (Waico), following the country’s involvement as a founding member announced at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai.

As organisations move from AI experimentation towards broader deployment, Huawei introduced its ACT pathway, a framework designed to help businesses identify high-value AI applications, adapt models using industry-specific data and integrate AI solutions into their operations.

Corporate vice-president Nicholas Ma said the approach had identified more than 1,000 core production scenarios globally and supported a developer ecosystem of more than four million participants.

Huawei South Africa deputy general manager Kui Zheng said AI adoption was already producing practical results locally, pointing to a rail security system that had reduced cable theft by 80%.

“The future of AI won’t be built by one company, even Huawei. We couldn’t do that. It will be built by an open ecosystem of partners, developers and customers creating value together,” said Zheng.

However, Zheng said significant barriers remained, with fewer than 35% of South African enterprises having identified where AI could unlock value from their own data. He added that the country faced a projected shortage of around 200,000 AI and ICT professionals by 2030.

Huawei said it had continued investing in South Africa’s digital infrastructure, with its network reaching 85-million mobile users through 28,000 base stations, while its optical broadband solutions connect 3.4-million households to broadband services.

The company said it had also deployed more than 800 private campus networks, extending connectivity to more than 100 hospitals and over 3,000 schools, while Huawei Cloud operates from three availability zones in South Africa, serving more than 300 customers and 1,000 technology partners.

Huawei’s local partner ecosystem now includes more than 1,400 South African companies, which the company said account for 94.7% of its local revenue and more than 90% of its delivery and service work.

Business Day