Huawei expresses interest in South Sudan's digital future

By Mthulisi Sibanda, Contributor
Johannesburg, 29 Sept 2025
Engineer Thomas Gatkuoth Nyak, undersecretary of the Ministry of ICT and Postal Services.
Engineer Thomas Gatkuoth Nyak, undersecretary of the Ministry of ICT and Postal Services.

A senior government official revealed on Friday that Huawei expressed an interest in supporting South Sudan's digital architecture.

Gieth Kon Mathiang, director general of the National Communication Authority and a member of South Sudan's delegation to the China-Africa Cooperation Summit in Addis Ababa, stated that Huawei shared lessons from past deployments and indicated interest in assisting South Sudan's digital future.

This comes as South Sudan is completing a national data hub in Juba, with intentions to position the capital as a smart city with global partners.

Engineer Thomas Gatkuoth Nyak, undersecretary of the Ministry of ICT and Postal Services, headed the South Sudan team to the event in Ethiopia.

The delegation believes that digital upgrades could lower service delivery costs, increase revenue collection, and help small businesses through mobile-based services.

In this context, the South Sudan delegation urged its Chinese and African partners to increase financing for digital infrastructure projects across the continent, emphasising that access to reliable electricity and modern telecommunications remains a major impediment to economic growth.

Nyak pointed out that South Sudan is ready to revamp its digital infrastructure, but that the country's power supply remains unpredictable, making it difficult to increase internet access and establish modern data networks.

He urged Chinese technology companies and financial institutions to focus not only on equipment supply, but also on energy solutions to power digital platforms.

Lack of continuous electricity supply has prompted investors to build solar-powered infrastructure in remote areas, but large-scale urban projects continue to rely on fuel-based generation.

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