Qualcomm Announces Africa Innovation Platform

Qualcomm

Qualcomm Incorporated has announced the launch of the Africa Innovation Platform, a suite of mentorship, education, and training programs created to support the development of Africa’s emerging technology ecosystem. The platform will provide resources and support for local universities, small-to-medium sized startups, and grant participants, exposing them to Qualcomm Technologies Inc.’s engineers and its state-of-the-art capabilities suite for mobile platforms and technologies, including 4G, 5G, IoT, AI, and machine learning. 

“The Africa Innovation Platform will stimulate innovation around product development, inspire learning, fuel research, and increase awareness around the value of intellectual property throughout the continent,” said Enrico Salvatori, Senior Vice President & President, Europe/Middle East and Africa, Qualcomm Europe, Inc. “At its core, Qualcomm is an R&D engine, and we are proud this program will simultaneously inspire the next generation of inventors, while also fueling the broader technology ecosystem.”  

Qualcomm

Qualcomm representatives will engage and collaborate with governments, trade associations, and other key stakeholders throughout the continent, including the African Telecommunications Union (ATU), to launch the Africa Innovation Platform. “The African Telecommunications Union is a firm advocate of innovation, and recently initiated a youth innovation programme for Africa with a projected financial value of about USD $400,000,” said the ATU. “ATU welcomes Qualcomm’s Africa Innovation Initiative and, working together, looks forward to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), catalyzing new business opportunities, and contributing to solving challenges in various sectors such as education, health, agriculture, movement, trade, and government services.” 

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Qualcomm’s Africa Innovation Platform is comprised of: 

Qualcomm® Make in Africa Startup Mentorship Program: As the first initiative of its kind in Africa, this equity-free mentorship program will identify promising early-stage startups keen on applying advanced connectivity and processing technologies to innovative end-to-end systems solutions, including hardware, and provide these companies with business coaching, access to engineering consultation for product development, and guidance on protecting intellectual property.

Qualcomm Africa University Relations Program: This program will bolster the research and educational capabilities of select African universities, research labs, and students by providing them with learning platforms and associated trainings, as well as Qualcomm® developer kits. The program will also work with university faculty to develop course and lab curricula.

Qualcomm Wireless Academy: Qualcomm’s education and training arm will expand its 5G University Training Program to students at select African universities, who will be able to receive 5G training and certification from industry-leading engineers.

Wireless Reach: Since 2007, through the Qualcomm® Wireless Reach™ initiative, Qualcomm has invested in sustainable programs in Africa that demonstrate innovative uses of wireless technology to advance economic and social development. Wireless Reach will continue this work through a collaboration with the International Telecommunication Union’s Development Bureau (ITU-D) that will focus on building early foundational digital skills for youth, with the aim of fostering the early stage of the talent pipeline that will go on to drive digital, inclusive economic transformation in Africa. Over the past 15 years, Wireless Reach’s 52 education projects have improved teaching and learning outcomes for nearly 1.2 million students and teachers in 20 countries to date.

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“At Qualcomm, we have always been passionate about innovation. The Africa Innovation Platform is an exciting new program that builds on our close work with governments, operators, and telecommunications standardization bodies over the past several years,” said Elizabeth Migwalla, Vice President and Head of Government Affairs (Middle East and Africa), Qualcomm International, Inc. “The programs that make up this platform will ultimately help African companies service markets throughout the continent and realize their global ambitions, further accelerating the growth of Africa’s creation economy.” 

The Africa Innovation Platform will also help African entrepreneurs and researchers service markets throughout the continent, and participate in many economic sectors including healthcare, education, agriculture, critical infrastructure, smart cities, and smart industries. This program builds upon Qualcomm’s ongoing experience in operating similar, successful initiatives in India, Taiwan, and Vietnam. 

Applications will open mid-December 2022, and Qualcomm Technologies will hold online webinars to offer information sessions about the program. Details of the application process, eligibility criteria, and program benefits will be announced on Qualcomm’s website.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Google, Qualcomm, Intel, Broadcom Terminate Huawei’s Android licences  —  What This Means

The trade war between the US and China means that Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd, a Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment and consumer electronics manufacturer, headquartered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China is the latest victim.

Google has just announced it has cut off Huawei’s Android licence, a move which would have serious implications for the manufacturer’s smartphone business.

Global smartphone market share

We are complying with the order and reviewing the implications. For users of our services, Google Play and the security protections from Google Play Protect will continue to function on existing Huawei devices,”Google said in a statement which attributes the revocation of the licence to compliance with US government policy

What This Means

  • The short term implication of this is that Huawei will lose access to Android updates, which means that existing Huawei smartphones will not be able to receive any official Android OS updates going forward.

  • Huawei will only be able to use the open-source version of Android and will lose access to proprietary apps and services from Google.

  • While the Chinese manufacturer can still use the Android Open Source Project (AOSP) licence to develop its software, this licence however, does not encompass applications such as Gmail, YouTube, and the Chrome browser.

  • These applications require a commercial agreement with Google and are available to download through the Google Play Store. These are what Google has blocked.

Intel, Others Follow Suit With Google

  • Among the four chipmakers, Intel is Huawei’s primary supplier of chips used in its data centers.
  • Additionally, Intel also provides processors for Huawei’s Matebook series of laptops.
  • Qualcomm sells it Snapdragon SoCs for various entry-level devices like the Honor 8C as well as some network chips.
  • Qualcom also licenses aptX codec for Bluetooth audio to Huawei.
  • Meanwhile, Xilinx provides programmable chips for networking while Broadcom supplies packet switching chips for telecom equipment.

In all, there are more than 30 companies in the U.S. considered as “core suppliers” by the company, and all of them are likely to follow the same route.

Huawei would lose all that bar for green Android with this new development

What This Means For African Businesses

  • The implication of this move by Google is that African businesses and other western markets using Huawei products could lose access to YouTube, Gmail, Google Maps, Chrome, and other popular apps on their Android smartphones, which are the proprietary rights of Google. This could be devastating for users in the Western markets where Huawei operates.

  • However, it is still uncertain how Huawei adjust its platform to tackle this the suspension of its Android licence.

  • Huawei may opt to migrate its devices to its own proprietary operating system, which it confirmed it has been developing in case it loses access to Android.

  • However, moving to this new operating system would not affect China so much, because most Google applications are banned are already banned there and users have since adopted Chinese equivalents.

  • Huawei has greatly expanded its presence in the African market, with its devices proving extremely popular due to their lower prices and solid design.

  • However, regardless of whether Huawei decides to migrate to its backup OS or stay with an open-source version of Android, its Android licence suspension will have a significant impact on Huawei users in South Africa.

  • This termination may give rise to serious trust issues against the Chinese companies. American spy chiefs in a classified info hinted that “The Chinese government and Communist party pose the greatest long-term threat to US economic and national security. It’s important that US companies, universities, and trade organizations understand fully that threat.”
Image result for smartphone  African market share
Huawei Responds To The Ban

In a response, Huawei says 

Huawei has made substantial contributions to the development and growth of Android around the world. As one of Android’s key global partners, we have worked closely with their open-source platform to develop an ecosystem that has benefitted both users and the industry.

Huawei will continue to provide security updates and after-sales services to all existing Huawei and Honor smartphone and tablet products, covering those that have been sold and that are still in stock globally.

We will continue to build a safe and sustainable software ecosystem, in order to provide the best experience for all users globally.”

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh, a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organisations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.

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