• HONOR South Africa was a key exhibitor at Africa Tech Festival 2024 this week.
• The smartphone maker outlined the importance of its partnerships with Google, Microsoft and other industry players on responsible development of AI.
• It also welcomed government officials to see its latest technology as it looks to further establish the brand locally.

With Africa Tech Festival 2024 now wrapped up, this year’s annual event in Cape Town was a particularly important one for HONOR South Africa.

The brand has been ramping up its efforts following a successful relaunch locally of late, and it used the event in the City Bowl to further highlight its desire to become a market leader, as well as being more transparent in its business operations and focus on the development of reliable and responsible on-device AI with the help of industry partners.

Regarding the latter, it was joined by Google and Cell C during a fireside chat to discuss the how AI and foldable smartphones can, “revolutionise the African market and transform people’s lives.”

“HONOR ensures it follows local regulations wherever we operate. We support the Ministry of Communications and Digital Technologies’ balanced approach to unlock AI’s full potential while ensuring its equitable benefits for all Africans,” noted Fred Zhou, CEO of HONOR South Africa.

He added that, “HONOR shares the Ministry’s belief that responsible AI deployment must serve the greater good without compromising fundamental human rights.”

To that end, the brand emphasised that the combination of on-device AI and unique foldable form factors could see smartphones be leveraged to improve user experiences, expand possibilities for multitasking, along with drive new applications for both personal and professional use.

While bringing new technology is one side of the equation, HONOR South Africa is also highlighting its role in terms of local investment. On this front, over R400 million has been invested to date, with it driving initiatives via the Youth Employment Service (YES) Program and Code with HONOR.

“HONOR is deeply committed to fostering local innovation and youth empowerment in South Africa. Our investment in projects like the YES Program and Code with HONOR not only supports job creation but also ensures young people are equipped with the skills needed to thrive in the digital age,” said Zhou.

It appears that HONOR will be collaborating more closely with South African government too, as Deputy President, Paul Mashatile (pictured above), was invited to and explored the company’s large booth on day two of Africa Tech Festival 2024. The company pointed out that Mashatile was there to discuss the “future of the smartphone industry in the country, and in extension, the continent.”

When it comes to this, we should be seeing more mid-range smartphones sporting on-device AI from HONOR South Africa moving forward. This makes sense too, as the brand confirmed that the recently launched HONOR 200 Lite 5G, was its best performing smartphone in terms of sales across multiple networks and retailers this year.

With HONOR also pursuing an IPO, it looks like the company is indeed pushing to move out of the shadow of Huawei as a former sub-brand, and become a fully fledged consumer technology provider in its own right locally.

[Image – Provided]