Participants of the MTN Nigeria sponsored Media Innovation Programme (MIP-4) at the School of Media and Communication (SMC), Pan-Atlantic University recently visited Huawei’s 5G innovation hub in Lagos on a study tour. Assistant News Editor, Precious Igbonwelundu, reports that the immersive experience showcased a first-hand view of the infrastructure powering Nigeria’s digital economy.
From the moment you walk in, you’re invited to experience technology not as abstract, but as local and practical solutions to multifaceted socio-economic, security and governance challenges plaguing the Nigerian society. Interactive displays show real-time dashboards of smart cities; technology powered agro-businesses and immersive AI solutions.
Welcome to the Huawei Innovation hub in Lagos, where demo corners highlight how cloud storage and solar-powered connectivity can support rural healthcare systems.
Situated by the towering Intercontinental Hotel in Victoria Island, the innovation hub spanning 4,000 square metres boasts over 850 engineers who work shifts for the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to support key sectors including telecoms, finance, power, and transportation.
Though a humid afternoon in Lagos, the air inside the centre buzzed with cool, quiet energy that conveyed subtle, strategic and intentional messages: this is the nexus for co-creation, capacity building and technology incubation.
As soon as participants of the MIP-4 programme arrived at the centre, they were ushered into the demo area by a female Huawei representative in Nigeria, Ivy, who led the team to first sign against their names on large yellow board before proceeding to give a brief presentation of the evolution of OEM from a technology provider to a collaborator for national digital transformation.
A remarkable feature of the centre is its connection to Huawei’s AI-ready local cloud infrastructure, which was launched in Nigeria in late 2024 and the Tier 3+ certified data center which supports more than 30 local cloud services and addresses the critical issues of data sovereignty and latency.
Also witnessed was the improved router and antenna technology, as well as Huawei’s AI-powered video software, which generates personalised high-definition video clips within a minute using 5G technology.
After a brief tour of the hub and exhibition of some of the services already being rendered across sectors in Nigeria, participants were marched into a lecture hall where Mr. Gavin Geng Xiaoyan, Director of Solution Sales\CTO, Huawei, made a presentation on the transformative potential of 5G and cloud infrastructure. He also spoke on the firm’s operations in the country and future projections.
“Trust for reliability and speed is why Huawei localised cloud services in Nigeria…This centre is designed to be a space where technology meets the specific needs of Nigeria,” he said.
Xiaoyan said the hub was powering services such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence, smart energy, and digital infrastructure, all tailored to local industry verticals such as education, agriculture, energy, public services, and finance.
Gains for Nigeria
In a country where sensitive data from banking records to citizen identification have long been hosted offshore, the arrival of a secure, scalable local cloud opens new possibilities. Fintechs, edtechs, and health-tech startups now have the infrastructure to scale securely without incurring the heavy costs of building their own backend systems or relying on foreign providers.
Huawei’s engineers at the hub demonstrate these capabilities with clarity. Visitors can interact with live use cases, from real-time analytics for microfinance firms to IoT-powered smart classrooms for rural education and solar-powered sustainable electricity for local communities, internally displaced persons camps, to boost the economy.
Panels simulate how base stations and rural health centers can run on hybrid energy systems combining solar and lithium battery storage.
“You cannot separate connectivity from energy. In off-grid communities, no matter how advanced your tech is, without power it means nothing.
“This energy-tech integration underscores Huawei’s dual focus: digital inclusion and energy resilience. By deploying solar-powered ICT hubs and integrating clean power with data infrastructure, the company is helping lay the groundwork for sustainable connectivity in Nigeria’s most underserved areas,” said a member of Huawei staff during a demo of the smart energy solutions.
Closely linked to the centre’s infrastructure is Huawei’s talent development mission which has seen over 20,000 Nigerian youths trained in ICT skills through the Huawei ICT Academy and Seeds for the Future programmes in the past few years.
Perhaps, the most defining trait of the innovation centre is its design for co-creation as designated spaces for solution workshops, training sessions, and co-design consultations were visible. This enables start-ups, government agencies, private companies, and academic researchers to bring their problems or ideas to the table for solutions to be created in a joint environment.
With this collaborative spirit drawing interests from reputable institutions of learning and innovation hubs, the company said it is open for partnership with government agencies like the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy to align innovations with national priorities.
The Huawei Innovation Centre in Lagos represents more than just an investment; it’s a signal that the next chapter of Nigeria’s digital transformation won’t be written by foreign firms building distant solutions, but by indigenous minds solving local problems with world-class infrastructure.
The event wrapped up with a certificate presentation to the participants and a dinner hosted by MTN’s Chief Services and Sustainability Officer, Tobechukwu Okigbo.
He charged the fellows to use their voices to bridge the knowledge gap between telecom providers and the Nigerian public, especially around the challenges and responsibilities that come with operating a modern digital network.
