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Huawei Cloud announces Spark programme for SMEs in Middle East

Huawei Cloud announces Spark programme for SMEs in Middle East

Huawei Cloud announces Spark programme for SMEs in Middle East

Image Courtesy: File

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KARACHI: Huawei Cloud has announced the launch of ‘Spark’, a new startup ecosystem support programme, aiming at empowering the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to develop their cloud capabilities, a statement said.

This initiative is the first step towards supporting Huawei Cloud partners in line with the recently launched Oasis Programme, where Huawei announced plans to invest $15 million over the next three years to accelerate the development of technology enterprises and ecosystems in the Middle East.

Spark will support more than 50 SMEs, each will receive up to $15,000 fund support on Huawei Cloud in addition to the cloud training during the first phase of the programme.

A select group of the SMEs will then join Spark Accelerate Programme, where they will receive further technical support from Huawei Cloud experts to help transform their businesses in the cloud and evolve their offerings.

Frank Dai, president of Huawei Cloud Middle East, said: “The SMEs play a prominent role in the Middle East economies, where they contribute by far the largest share of national economic output. However, they face unique challenges, including a shortage of a skilled digital workforce and a lack of resources to digitalise operations.”

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“By empowering more SMEs to succeed through Spark and similar programmes, we can jointly cultivate an even stronger technology ecosystem in the Middle East.”

The SMEs are the backbone of the global economy and are essential contributors to job creation and economic growth. According to the World Bank, small businesses represent around 90 per cent of all businesses worldwide and more than 50 per cent of employment opportunities.

In the region, 99 per cent of the Saudi private sector consists of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and 70 per cent of the country’s workforce. Similarly, the SME sector represents more than 94 per cent of all the companies operating in the UAE and provides jobs for more than 86 per cent of the private sector’s workforce.

Digitalisation is a game-changer for the SME sector, contributing to the significant revenue boost and business resilience.

A whitepaper by the UAE’s Ministry of Economy revealed that digital technologies had helped 76 per cent of the UAE SMEs attract new customers, 65 per cent were able to generate cost savings, and 50 per cent were able to access new markets.

For example, 45 per cent of the SMEs accepting digital payments recorded an increase in sales averaging +12 per cent and could process payments seven times faster than non-digital payments.

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Huawei Cloud delivers a smart experience for people, cities, and enterprises in all scenarios, as part of the Huawei’s commitment to providing reliable, secure, and cost-effective cloud services to empower applications, and help the organisations of all sizes grow in today’s intelligent world.

To support a wider cloud rollout, Huawei has unveiled several programmes to help the region cultivate digital experts and build the local ecosystem. It recently announced a support programme for developing 3,000 cloud experts in the region, as part of the Huawei Cloud Oasis Programme.

The program includes $7.5 million to be allocated for partner development, over $2.5 million to be put behind credits and other cloud resources, and more than $4.5 million in marketing support for the programme projects.

According to Gartner1, Huawei Cloud ranks as the No 5 IaaS cloud service provider globally, with a growth rate exceeding 200 per cent between 2019/20.

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