Last week, Huawei Cloud hosted the Huawei Cloud AI4Naija Forum, themed “AI in Action: From Theory to Practice”, in Lagos. The event brought together over 120 customers from government, finance, e-commerce and others to explore the potential of artificial intelligence in Nigeria.
As one of Africa’s fastest-growing digital economies, Nigeria holds vast potential for AI adoption and innovation. And, Huawei Cloud, at the event, showcased its latest AI products and capabilities to empower local enterprises and accelerate Nigeria’s digital transformation.
In his opening speech, Hugo Hu, Managing Director of Huawei Cloud Nigeria, emphasised that AI is becoming a pivotal engine for growth, helping Nigeria gain new capabilities and seize emerging opportunities. “We hope to be an integral part of this journey and contribute to Nigeria’s industrial intelligence,” he said.
Hu highlighted three key initiatives by Huawei Cloud in Nigeria:
- The Young Nigeria Talent Program
- AnAI Foundation for an Intelligent Nigeria
- And a Dynamic Nigeria AI Practice
He also stressed that by implementing the “Cloud for AI” and “AI for Cloud” strategies, Huawei Cloud aims to accelerate intelligent transformation across industries in Nigeria, working hand in hand towards shared success in the AI era.
Similarly, Dr Olusola Ayoola, CEO of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Nigeria, in his keynote speech on ‘AI Empowers the Future of Nigeria’s Industries’, emphasised that artificial intelligence is becoming a core driver of Nigeria’s digital transformation and economic growth.
He highlighted the importance of seizing AI opportunities in a rapidly evolving global economic landscape, saying: “Nigeria can draw lessons from China’s successful AI transformation by leveraging policy support and talent development to close the technology gap, enhance competitiveness, and accelerate AI adoption across various industries”, he said.
“AI development relies on three key foundations: robust data infrastructure, comprehensive talent development, and supportive policy frameworks. Looking ahead, Nigeria can leverage its demographic dividend and strategic regional position to accelerate AI adoption, drive sustainable economic growth, and improve the quality of life for its citizens,” Dr Ayoola added.
Furthering the discourse, Roc Bai, Vice President of Huawei Cloud Sub-Saharan Africa, highlighted that advances in computing power and algorithmic optimisation are driving the continuous evolution of AI, with China well-positioned to lead this transformation thanks to its abundant industrial data and cutting-edge domain-specific model development.
Roc Bai noted that Huawei Cloud’s AI large models are already widely adopted across key industries—including fintech, logistics, transportation, and energy—delivering significant value to top-tier customers.
With the launch of CloudMatrix 384, Huawei is building an AI-native cloud infrastructure to provide powerful AI computing capabilities, and in the future, aims to bring increasingly advanced AI technologies and best practices to Nigeria.
On his part, Dotun Adekunle, OPay’s Chief Technology Officer, in his presentation entitled ‘Unlocking Financial Innovation at OPay through AI’, noted that generative finance will gradually become widely adopted.
By the 2030s, every aspect of daily financial life will be seamlessly integrated with AI capabilities. “At that point, bank accounts, health data, and personal AI will all function as digital wallets in the cloud. OPay has rapidly adopted large-scale AI capabilities, co-innovating with Huawei Cloud to launch solutions such as AI-powered risk control, AI-based identity verification, and AI-driven financial compliance management.”
“Looking ahead, OPay will continue to leverage Huawei Cloud’s AI expertise to drive deeper innovation and deliver even greater value for its users”, he concluded.
Read also: MTN-MIP fellows tour Huawei’s 5G Innovation Hub, Support Centre in Lagos
AI4Naija: Huawei Cloud’s dedicated session on AI
At the Forum, Huawei Cloud hosted a dedicated hands-on session titled “Build Your First AI Agent on Huawei Cloud”, drawing significant participation from technology enthusiasts and corporate representatives.
The workshop aimed to provide attendees with a deep understanding of AI Agents’ core components, allowing them to experience firsthand the process of building knowledge retrieval and tool-calling capabilities, and explore AI’s potential applications in real business scenarios.
Under the guidance of Huawei Cloud AI experts, participants completed the full process of creating an AI Agent from scratch within 40 minutes. The session covered knowledge base construction, intelligent Q&A, and information summarisation.
Through practical engagement, attendees not only mastered the technical workflow of AI Agents but also gained clear insights into their value in applications such as automated customer service and business decision support.
Huawei Cloud’s AI capabilities are fueling fresh momentum in Nigeria’s digital transformation. Looking ahead, Huawei Cloud will accelerate AI adoption, drive innovation, and open up new opportunities for Nigeria and the wider African market. Huawei Cloud also looks forward to working hand in hand with more African customers to unlock the potential of AI in industry intelligence and build a smarter future together.