From a Small Village to the Global Stage: Tanzanian Students Dazzle with Tech

Despite its growing youth workforce in recent years, Tanzania's ICT talent pool still lags behind industry needs. Three young students from the University of Dar es Salaam, the oldest and biggest public university in Tanzania, decided to buck this challenge and chased their dreams all the way to the global stage of ICT competitions. Their story is a testament to how hard work can pay off, and how successful Huawei's investment in ICT talent development has been.

According to the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Human Development Report 2023–2024, Tanzania ranks 167th among 193 countries by human development composite indices and is classified as one of the world's least developed countries. Since entering the Tanzanian market in 2007, Huawei has focused on building our roots in local communities. Huawei provides ICT training and enablement for local college students, cooperation partners, and delivery partners as part of our efforts to build local ICT capabilities. We have taken on a mission to help every young Tanzanian rewrite their destiny with ICT.

James Amos Magesa, Matimu Charles Mahimbo, and Dickson Grayson Mram, the three students from the University of Dar es Salaam, all participated in Huawei's ICT Academy program. With the guidance of their mentor, Jummane Ally, they worked together to take home the Grand Prize at the Global Final of the Network Track of the 2023–2024 Huawei ICT Competition.

During the Tanzania Annual ICT Conference 2024, Tanzanian Prime Minister Kassim Majaliwa Majaliwa himself presented the team their trophy. The Prime Minister's commendation signifies how important he believes the ICT education industry is to the country's future development. In addition, the team members were given internships at Huawei, which are likely to transition into full-time job offers at the end of their program.

Planting a dream: The ICT aspiration of a young man from a remote village

Hailing from a remote village in Tanzania, James Amos Magesa studied telecommunications engineering at the University of Dar es Salaam. The Huawei ICT Academy club was just one of many endorsed by some of his older classmates, but it was also the one he was immediately interested in. The Huawei ICT Academy would not only broaden his knowledge and hands-on capabilities, but also open up opportunities for him to earn professional certifications – improving his chances of getting a job in his desired field after graduation. He signed up immediately.

James met many like-minded peers at the Huawei ICT Academy. They tackled technical problem sets together and discussed new content from their courses. The Academy also provided exposure to the latest ICT technology trends, expanding their views like nothing else. The Academy helped James further hone his professional knowledge, his teamwork, and his ability to put theory into practice and tackle challenges. James also received Huawei certifications in datacom, network security, and WLAN.

This experience was immensely enriching for James, and sparked his interest in Huawei's ICT Competition. And so he approached his peers, Matimu and Dickson, who were computer engineering and information technology majors, about signing up for the competition. Throughout the competition, they explored the factory operation model for network systems, built wireless networks, and sorted out complex data processing processes. They ended up making huge progress developing their skillsets, especially those in data security.

After successfully finishing the National Final in Tanzania, they went on to compete in the Southern Africa Regional Final. After that, they made it to the Global Final. James was well aware that if their team wanted to stand out in this global technical competition, they had to work harder than they normally did. So, instead of their normal schedule of four hours of study a day, they doubled their workload. In addition to their normal studying for school, they met up from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. every school night to go over even more material and prepare for the competition.

After a few months, James, Matimu, and Dickson's efforts paid off. They emerged winners in the fierce regional competition and moved up to the Huawei ICT Competition's Global Final. At the regional award ceremony held in Tanzania in May, 2024, the Minister of Information and Communications Technology Nape Moses Nnauye himself handed the three young men their tickets to Shenzhen. He was not only recognizing their achievement, but also letting them know he believed in their future potential.

Journeying on: Dazzling the world stage

As their plane took off from Tanzania, James, Matimu, and Dickson were excited, but slightly nervous. This was their first international flight, and they were about to not only visit Huawei's headquarters in coastal Southern China, but start a new chapter in their lives. They were also well aware that the contestants they were about to meet in Shenzhen would be some of the world's best and brightest in ICT.

Once they landed in Shenzhen, they were impressed with the lush beauty of the city. As ICT enthusiasts though, what was more interesting was the signs of digital transformation around the city. There were clear signs of automation around, almost every car on the road was an EV, and their guides pointed out other smart city applications the municipal government was trialing. The team's curiosity was sparked and they were excited to explore more of the local technological innovations.

But as the competition kicked into gear, they became laser-focused, sometimes even forgetting to break for lunch (see Figure 1). And that focus paid off.

Figure 1: Team Tanzania waiting for the opening of the test at
the Huawei ICT Competition 2023–2024 Global Final

At the award ceremony of the Huawei ICT Competition 2023–2024 Global Final, the Tanzanian team stood on the podium and received the Network Track Grand Prize for the Practice Competition. Dickson remembers that moment with crystal clarity, standing side by side, arm in arm, singing the Tanzanian national anthem and celebrating their moment of glory, "At that moment, we were no longer isolated individuals. Instead, we were closely united as one, representing our country with glory, honored and praised by people from all over the world."

Contributing more and more to the country's technology development

At the Tanzania Annual ICT Conference 2024, a special ceremony was hosted to celebrate the team's historic win. Tanzania's Prime Minister, Kassim Majaliwa Majaliwa, presented the award to the team (see Figure 2), expressing his support and expectations for the ICT education industry and its future development in Tanzania. He hoped more young people would be encouraged to embrace the surging wave of technological innovation.

Figure 2: The team received an honorary award from His Hon. Kassim Majaliwa
Majaliwa (third from the right), Prime Minister of Tanzania, after returning home

The award and experience were not the team's only prizes. They also returned home to internship offers from Huawei. They currently plan to enter Huawei's internship program in 2025, putting them on track to receive further job offers in the near future. This opportunity will not only help them further integrate their knowledge with practical skills, but also allow them to experience the life of an ICT professional at Huawei's Tanzania Rep Office, and begin to contribute to ICT development in Tanzania.

The Huawei ICT Competition was not only a platform of growth for the team. It also unleashes their bright talents that will be infused into Tanzania's ICT industry. This is the ultimate goal of Tanzania's national ICT education and development drive. Their story is already encouraging more Tanzanian youths to pursue their dreams and tackle bigger and bigger challenges in the world of tech. These young people will undoubtably be ready to take their country to the next step of its own digital journey and intelligent future.