With the first day of Africa Tech Festival 2025 done and dusted, a few interesting announcements emerged. One of these is Cell C Business moving closer to expanding its offerings by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Huawei Cloud. This sees the two companies collaborate on cloud, digital infrastructure and industry-specific solutions aimed at advancing innovation in local sectors such as healthcare, education and government services. 

The MOU marks an evolution from Cell C traditional focus on connectivity, extending its business solutions into enterprise cloud and vertical digital solutions. As Chris Lazarus, chief officer for Sales, Distribution and Regions at Cell C noted, “We’re moving decisively beyond connectivity, co-creating solutions that make a real difference in sectors like healthcare, education and enterprise operations. Together with Huawei, we’re delivering high-performance, future ready solutions for business and government.”

Industry solutions for the digital economy

The agreement reaffirmed a two-decade partnership between Huawei and Cell C, signalling a joint push to accelerate South Africa’s digital transformation. Under the new framework, the companies plan to develop and deploy a range of technologies within a shared innovation ecosystem, with the standouts being:

• TechNov8 M-Health: A mobile health platform that enables remote healthcare delivery, allowing patients in underserved areas to access medical services and consultations securely and in real time.
• Xcallibre Digital Workflow Solutions: An enterprise-grade suite that automates processes and improves productivity for both public and private sector organisations.

These offerings form part of Cell C Business’s broader innovation partner network, which blends local expertise with global technology partnerships to address the needs of South Africa’s growing digital economy.

Backbone provided by Huawei

Huawei’s enterprise technology stack, covering cloud, networking, storage, artificial intelligence and intelligent computing, will provide the backbone for the joint solutions. The infrastructure will be hosted in Huawei’s South African data centres, ensuring compliance with local data regulations, security and reliability.

Huawei Cloud currently operates three data centres in the country, with the company noting it maintains a dedicated technical team to ensure that clients receive global-standard services with local support.

In support of SA’s National Development

The two companies stated their partnership aligns with South Africa’s National Development Plan by promoting digital inclusion, local innovation and economic growth through technology-led empowerment.

Steven Chen, MD of Huawei Cloud South Africa, stated, “Our collaboration with Cell C Business combines Huawei’s enterprise and cloud capabilities with Cell C’s strong local network and partner ecosystem. Together, we aim to accelerate digital transformation across industries and communities, from M-Health to smart workflow solutions.”

Both companies view the renewed alliance as a major step toward creating a more connected, innovative and inclusive digital economy in South Africa.