The huge population base, diversified and dynamic economies would guarantee the long-term prosperity of the African telecom market. In the next five years, participation of 270 million new subscribers would build a sustainable solid voice and data service revenue base.
ZTE is keen to tap into these opportunities.
Talking to ITWeb on the side lines of AfricaCom 2015, Zhang Chao, ZTE deputy CTO for MEA, unpacked the Chinese multinational's plans to make its presence more visible within the African market.
He detailed the importance of forming the right partnerships with the right players in the region - be it with government or local operators.
Government's responsibility is to improve the lives of people living in their country, he noted. ZTE wants to position itself to work with governments across Africa to provide better connectivity services to their entire population - from the most rural locations to the bustling urban areas.
According to Chao, ZTE has already formed partnerships with local government and with public sector companies within Africa. "In the future, we would like to be a part of projects led by government. Something like the development of smart cities and innovative education or healthcare services."
But working in Africa is not without its challenges, he said, adding the situation is made more complex by the fact that the scenario is different in each country across the continent. Generally speaking, Chao cites skills and logistics as some of the biggest stumbling blocks.
"Where possible, we want to be working with locals but sometimes these people do not have the necessary skills."
When we enter into a new partnership, part of the contract conditions detail how many people we will upskill as part of the project, he noted. "This is good for local development, especially in the developing world."
In terms of logistics, it comes down to identifying faults in the process and then working on these procedures so that the next time things run with greater efficiency. "The first time is usually tough, but after this, we work to make things run more smoothly."
Looking at the future for ZTE in Africa, Chao believes that providing better connectivity and services to regular people should be the main focus. While he did acknowledge that things like big data and the Internet of things are hot topics, he stressed these things mean very little to the man on the street.
Improved services and advanced mobile technology can change the lives of people living in this region. And the data generated from these smart solutions can be analysed to uncover real insights into how things are done and how these processes can be improved.
"The markets in African countries have large potential; we want to expand our business here. Even in countries where the environment may not be favourable. We will continue to invest and we hope the people and governments will support our efforts."
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