Connection issues: a study on the limitations of knowledge transfer in Huawei’s African training centres

ABSTRACT Huawei has built several training centres across Africa. This study establishes the purpose of these centres in Kenya and Nigeria and presents original data on their success based on their objectives. Fieldwork was conducted in 2018 and follow-up interviews continued by phone until 2021. I find that Huawe’s investments offer no significant opportunities for knowledge transfers that could foster technological or industrial upgrading in Kenya or Nigeria’s telecommunications sectors. In part, this is due to domestic obstacles in the host countries. But, like other international equipment vendors operating in the region, knowledge transfers are also hindered by the limited scope of Huawei’s investments and the boundaries on the knowledge it is willing to share with domestic employees. I conclude that Kenya and Nigeria’s governments may underestimate the leverage they have over international equipment vendors to induce more meaningful opportunities for knowledge transfer.