Malawi government, Huawei commission national data center

Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera (3rd L) listens to the introduction of the National Data Center at the handover ceremony in Blantyre, Malawi, July 21, 2022. (Photo by Joseph Mizere/Xinhua)

BLANTYRE, Malawi, July 22 (Xinhua) -- The Malawian government and Chinese information and communications technology (ICT) company Huawei have commissioned Malawi's first-ever National Data Center.

The completion of the data center is part of Malawi's efforts to embrace technology as a tool to accelerate development and make it accessible to all at every level.

Speaking during the handover ceremony held Thursday in the country's second-largest city of Blantyre, Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera said the data center will give Malawi a stake in the 4th Industrial Revolution of big data, artificial intelligence, digital financial services and the internet of things (IoT), among others.

The president commended Huawei's contribution to promoting digitization and bridging the digital gap in Malawi.

"Through this National Data Center, we can guarantee security information to those we invite to invest in our manufacturing, financial, retail and service sectors, thus making Malawi a location of choice for investors.

"This data center is a critical building block in the digital future Malawi is building, and will enable the government to cut down costs by enhancing coordination between different projects, and better manage and secure data that is critical for decision making and targeting in the implementation of many programs," Chakwera said.

Minister of Information and Digitalization Gospel Kazako said the National Data Center will enable Malawi to move into a paperless economy both in government and private sector, adding that the infrastructure will secure the country's data and information as opposed to storing it in paper form which is prone to damage and loss.

He added that the data center will help Malawi meet new market and customer demand by up-scaling access to ICTs in line with the National ICT Master Plan and thereby fertilizing the development of Malawi.

At the ceremony, Leo Chen, president of Huawei Southern Africa, announced that Huawei will provide free ICT training to 100 outstanding Malawian students this year through its "Seeds for the Future" training program.

Last year, 50 students from universities and colleges across Malawi received training under the program. 

Photo taken on July 21, 2022 shows the National Data Center in Blantyre, Malawi. (Photo by Joseph Mizere/Xinhua)

Malawian President Lazarus Chakwera (C) attends the handover ceremony of the National Data Center in Blantyre, Malawi, July 21, 2022. (Photo by Joseph Mizere/Xinhua)