Huawei’s success in Africa is undeniable. It’s built large swathes of the continent’s telecom network and is an indispensable player at almost every layer of the African technology stack. But when it comes to transferring skills and technology, the company’s record is a bit more checkered.
Tin Hinane El Kadi, a doctoral student at the London School of Economics and an associate fellow at Chatham House, contends in a new report published by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace that in both Algeria and Egypt Huawei, Huawei generates a lot of good press about tech transfers but in reality does very little. Tin joins Eric & Cobus from London to discuss her findings and what’s behind this apparent discrepancy.
Show Notes:
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace: How Huawei’s Localization in North Africa Delivered Mixed Returns by Tin Hinane El Kadi
- Deutsche Welle: Africa embraces Huawei technology despite security concerns by David Ehl
- The China-Africa Research Initiative: How Huawei Succeeds in Africa: Training and Knowledge Transfers in Kenya and Nigeria by Henry Tugendhat
About Tin Hinane El Kadi:
Tin Hinane El Kadi is a political economy researcher. Her research interests include innovation and the knowledge economy, ICTs and Development, state-business relations, and Chinese investments in North Africa. Tin Hinane is part of a research team at the London School of Economics (LSE) investigating the political economy of data-driven innovations. She also works on another LSE project focusing on North-South knowledge production and implications for the integration of developing countries in the global knowledge economy Before joining the LSE, she has worked for a leading Chinese ICT firm in Algiers. Selected as a Chevening Scholar, Tin Hinane completed an MSc in Development Studies from the LSE. She also holds a BA in Politics from SOAS, University of London. Her opinion pieces have appeared on the Review of African Political Economy and the Huffington Post Maghreb. She is fluent in Arabic, French and speaks Mandarin Chinese at an advanced level.
