Huawei has a clear and defined Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme, with an emphasis on cybersecurity, smart eco-friendly retail spaces, a responsible supply chain and community development. In June, it opened a state-of-the-art Qatar office in the UDC tower at The Pearl Island in Qatar. The new office will play a critical role in managing the company’s CSR programmes and initiatives in Qatar, such as Huawei’s flagship programme, Seeds for the Future, ICT Competition and ICT Academy.
CSR encourages companies to be more aware of the impact of their organsiation on the rest of society. In line with Huawei’s expansion plans in Qatar and its commitment to support the country’s Digital Transformation, ICT ecosystem and digital economy, Huawei opened its new office.
The 4,000sqm office houses Huawei’s main Qatar operation team and will help meet the future needs of the company’s growing workforce. The move reaffirms Huawei’s long-term commitment to Qatar and is a milestone in the company expansion plan targeted at enhancing its presence, activities, offerings and contributions to the Qatar market to achieve its mandate to play a key role in achieving the country’s Digital Transformation goals.
The new office inauguration was attended by HE Mr Mohammed bin Ali Al Mannai, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, and senior representatives from the Investment Promotion Agency of Qatar, United Development Company, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the State of Qatar and the Huawei management team, led by Steven Yi, President, Huawei Middle East and Central Asia.
HE Mr Mohammed bin Ali Al Mannai said: “Huawei is considered one of our important partners and is among the top leading companies in the field of information and communication technology. I am pleased to welcome Huawei’s new expansion in Qatar. There is no doubt that this will contribute to enhancing digital innovation and creating new digital opportunities in the Qatari market.”
The office will host the company’s business operations, including Carrier Networks, Enterprise, Consumer, Cloud and Digital Power. In addition, the office will play a critical role in managing the company’s CSR programmes and initiatives in Qatar, such as Huawei’s flagship programme, Seeds for the Future, ICT Competition and ICT Academy. It will also host an exhibition centre that will function as an executive briefing centre, showcasing many of the company’s products, solutions and advanced technologies in the ICT industry.
Yi said: “This new office opening is a commitment to our future in Qatar. We are proud of our history in the country and Huawei will continue to support Qatar’s Digital Transformation through its cutting-edge technology solutions.
“I look forward to welcoming customers, partners, visitors and Huawei team members to our new office. I am confident that this expansion will drive further recruitment of elite talent, who will take the lead in achieving the goals of the Qatar National Vision 2030 towards a leading sustainable digital society.”
United Development Company (UDC), the master developer of The Pearl Island and Gewan Island, signed an agreement last year with Huawei to boost the Smart City characteristics by designing and integrating innovative solutions at The Pearl Island. Last year, at Milipol Qatar 2022, UDC extended its partnership with Huawei to deploy its smart campus system at the new UDC development at Gewan Island.
Huawei has been operating in the Qatari market since 2003 and currently works with both telecom providers – Ooredoo and Vodafone Qatar – serving approximately two million people in the country. Huawei is also actively cultivating local ICT talents to contribute to Qatar’s ICT ecosystem. Huawei expanded its STEM and education initiatives last year through its flagship CSR programme, Seeds for the Future, Huawei ICT Competition and Huawei ICT Academy to further support the country’s core focus on innovation.
Speaking at the SAMENA Leaders’ Summit in Dubai earlier in the year Yi emphasised the importance of Huawei’s CSR. He said: “Over the last decades, we have put a lot of effort into creating social values for each country by creating hundreds and thousands of job opportunities for the local people, actively working with local partners and cultivating over 100,000 local ICT talents through our different training certification programmes. We will continue working with our partners to bring pioneering new technologies to the region that will enrich people’s lives with immersive digital services and enable smart solutions to accelerate the industry’s Digital Transformation and related social value.”
Huawei has a long and proud history of collaboration with governments, academia and industry to enrich the region’s ICT talent ecosystem. In the Middle East, Huawei has set up 186 Huawei ICT Academies and more than 4,000 students have participated in Seeds for the Future, while over 57,000 people have obtained Huawei certification. It has also trained over 150,000 ICT talents for the Middle East and is committed to achieving more in collaboration with partners.
The ICT leader has established Huawei ICT Academies with more than 2,200 universities across the globe and trains an average of more than 200,000 students each year. Furthermore, the Huawei ICT Competition provides an international platform through which university students from around the world can compete and share ideas with each other. The sixth Huawei ICT Competition, held in 2022, attracted 150,000 university students from 85 countries and regions.
At the Leaders’ Summit, Yi said: “In 2023, we will continue to maintain strategic focus and strengthen R&D investment. We will focus on creating greater value for our customers, partners and society. Huawei remains open to collaboration and is always looking to join hands with outstanding researchers, developers, innovators and partners from around the world to address the biggest challenges of our times.”