Chinese technology giant Huawei and several African telecom operators have launched a new alliance aimed at accelerating digital transformation across the continent’s telecommunications sector, with a strong focus on artificial intelligence and 5G technologies.
The initiative, known as the Northern Africa Digital Operation Transformation Pioneer Club 2.0, was unveiled during the Operations Transformation Forum (OTF) 2026 held in Barcelona, Spain, on the sidelines of the global telecom event Mobile World Congress. The forum brought together more than 100 representatives from governments, telecom operators and industry organisations to discuss the future of digital operations in Africa.
AI as a telecom imperative
Speaking at the event, Jim Liu, President of Huawei Northern Africa Carrier Business, said artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming central to telecom operations.
“AI-driven unified entry and end-to-end intelligent operations are no longer experimental. They are operational imperatives, enabling telecom operators to accelerate transformation, create new value and ignite growth across Africa,” Liu said.
Lucas Lu, Vice President of Huawei Global Technical Service, also noted that the telecommunications industry is entering a new era where operators must reshape business models, customer experience and value creation through AI-enabled services.
Telecom operators join initiative
The alliance includes leading telecom executives from major African operators such as Algeria Telecom, Tunisie Telecom, Ethio Telecom and Moov Money Gabon.
Among those present at the launch were Lassaad Ben Dhieb, Chairman and CEO of Tunisie Telecom Group, and Bruk Adhana, Chief Mobile Money Business Officer at Ethio Telecom.
Industry groups also participated in the discussions. Aaron Boasman, Vice President of the TM Forum, said AI is transforming telecom operators from traditional network providers into intelligent digital platforms.
According to him, operators that adopt AI-driven transformation early could turn operational cost centres into new revenue engines.
Huawei’s Africa digital strategy
Huawei also presented its E.B.O.I framework — short for Entry, Business, Operations and Infrastructure — designed to help African telecom companies restructure their business models around AI and 5G technologies.
The framework includes building operator “super apps”, AI-powered digital service gateways and more integrated operational systems to support digital services across multiple sectors.
Huawei has been investing heavily in Africa’s telecommunications sector for more than a decade, supplying network infrastructure and digital solutions to operators across the continent.
With the Pioneer Club initiative now in its second edition, Huawei and its telecom partners say the goal is to strengthen collaboration among operator leaders, share best practices and accelerate the deployment of next-generation digital services across Africa.
