Huawei Cloud's Startup Program To Digitally Empower 1,000 SMEs In MEA And Central Asia By 2025 The launch of the Huawei Cloud Startup Program follows a 2021 report by Gartner that shows that over 95% of new digital workloads will be deployed on cloud-native platforms by 2025
By Entrepreneur Middle East Staff Edited by Aby Sam Thomas
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Huawei Cloud, the cloud storage platform offered by global information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure and smart devices provider Huawei, has launched a startup program for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa.
The Huawei Cloud Startup Program will aim to support 1,000 SMEs by offering them access to cost-effective cloud services by Huawei Cloud, as well as technical support, go-to-market resources, and talent development training.
"SMEs are the backbone of the regional economy- however, small businesses struggle to digitize their processes, thus missing out on the immense opportunities of the digital economy," said Frank Dai, President of Huawei Cloud Middle East and Central Asia. "Huawei wants to empower regional entrepreneurs with the tools to succeed in the digital age by adopting cloud services; we believe the Huawei Cloud Startup Program is an essential building block for growth in the modern age, and by empowering more SMEs with such programs, we can jointly cultivate a robust technology ecosystem in the region."
The launch of the Huawei Cloud Startup Program follows a 2021 report by Gartner that shows that over 95% of new digital workloads will be deployed on cloud-native platforms by 2025. Having coined the term "Cloud Native 2.0" -describing an intelligent upgrade of enterprises where applications and services are not only migrated to the cloud but also being built on the cloud- Huawei Cloud now aims to continue its endeavors in helping more SMEs go fully digital through the SME-centric program.
The Huawei Cloud Startup Program's initiation was announced during the Huawei Cloud Summit Middle East and Africa 2023, which was held in Dubai on March 21, 2023. More than 300 government leaders, cloud-native industry experts, and customer representatives from the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa had attended the event which was held under the theme, "Inspire Innovation with Everything as a Service."
The program's launch event saw the attendance of representatives from the following entities: the UAE Ministry of Economy; Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) Asia, the regional arm of global incubator platform GEN; Dinarak, a Jordan-based mobile wallets service provider; and Ignite, a Pakistan-based non-profit company that funds innovative startups. The launch was also attended by three Kuwait-based enterprises: Eyon TV, a video streaming platform; One Global, a digital transformation and innovation company; and Empower, a storage and shipping solutions firm.
