StableJobsandCareerGrowth
FluentinMandarin,26-year-oldFrazierGenenehasworkedforHuajianGroupforalmosteightyears.HewasdispatchedtoitsheadquartersatDongguan,GuangdongProvinceofChinafortrainingbecauseofhisgoodperformance.Twoyearslater,hereturnedtoEthiopiaandwashiredasaleaderoftheevaluationmanagementdepartment,inchargeofover1,300workers.FraziersaidhehadaChinesename“Guangzhou”giventohimbyhiscolleagues.
Twenty-eight-year-oldIsraelEtefaandanother88localworkershavealsobeentrainedatDongguanin2011whenthefactoryinEthiopiahadnotyetstartedproduction.Sevenyearslater,Israelhasworkedhiswayuptothepositionofdirectoroftheproductionline.HisChinesenameis“Fazhan”meaning“development,”andZhangHuarong–ChairmanofHuajiangGroup,gavehimthisname.ThewellmanagedmechanizedproductionlineintheHuajianLightIndustryCity.At6:30everymorning,hundredsofEthiopianworkerswearingT-shirtuniformsingreentakebusesfromneighboringvillagestothefactorytohavebreakfastbeforework.Afterbreadfast,someyoungmenplaybasketballinfrontofthemainbuilding,whileothersplayfootballnearby.At7:40,everyonestartstowork.Workersareontheproductionlinecarryingouttailoring,gluing,andthesewingprocessesofmakingshoesinthebusyworkshop.
“Weknewnothingaboutmakingshoes,neithercouldwespeakChineseatthebeginning.However,inChina,welearnttheskillstobrushcoating,pastethesolesofshoes,tailoring,andallotherneededtechniques,”Fraziersaid.
Aslocalworkersgraduallymasteredthetechniques,theybegantoworkonthemanagementheadcountandtheirincomesincreasedtoo.Seeingthedevelopmentacrosshishometownandthechangesinhislife,Fraziersaidingratitude,“IfeelasenseofhappinessworkinginsuchagreatChinesecompany.”
Establishedin1996,HuajianGroupisoneofthebiggestwomen’sfootwearmanufacturersintheworld.Producingmedium-andhigh-gradewomen’sshoesformanybrandsthataregloballyrenowned,HuajiannowhasthreebusinessgroupsinDongguan,GanzhouofJiangxiProvince,andEthiopiainAfrica.HuajianstarteditsinvestmentinEthiopiainOctober2011,andthefactorybeganproductioninJanuary2012,offering4,000jobsforlocalpeople.ThecompanyhasexportedUS$80millionworthofproductsandhasbecomethelargestexporterinEthiopia,praisedbylocalsocietyandmedia.
ImprovingTechnicalandManagementSkills
“Itisawin-wincooperationbetweenEthiopiaandHuajian.Asalabor-intensivemanufacturer,Huajianneedsaccesstoalargequantityoflow-costlaborandrawmaterials.EthiopiaisthesecondlargestcountryinAfricawithanunemploymentrateof50percent,meanwhilethecountryaboundswithhigh-qualityleather;thusforEthiopia,acompanylikeHuajianisagoodmatch,”ZhangHuarongexplained.
HuajianGroupisindebtedtothelatePrimeMinisterMelesZenawi,whorecommendedHuajianGrouptobuildafactoryinEthiopia.InAugust2011,heparticipatedintheopeningceremonyofInternationalUniversitySportsFederationinShenzhenwiththeaimofinvitingChina’slabor-intensivemanufacturerstohisnation,givingfullplaytothelow-costadvantageinEthiopia,developingdomesticlightindustry,aswellasalleviatingtheunemployment.
RecommendedbytheworldfamouseconomistJustinYifuLin,thePrimeMinistervisitedHuajianGroupatDongguanandinvestigateditsshoemanufacturinglinesfordevelopedeconomies.MelesZenawitheninvitedHuajianGrouptodoafieldresearchinEthiopiaforinvestment,andonemonthlater,ZhangHuarongflewtoEthiopiawithhisteamandsignedtheagreementtobuildafactorythereandputitintooperationsoon.
ShoemanufacturingistotallynewforEthiopia.Thoughthelaborcostisrelativelylow,theworkingefficiencyisnotcomparabletothatoftrainedChineselabor,asmostoffinishedproductscannotreachtherequiredstandards.Huajiantherebyhasdevotedalargeamountoftimeandmoneytolocalworkers’training.ThegroupbuiltworkshopsandhiredexperiencedChineseworkerstoteachthelocalworkershowtoworkonmachinesandbyhand.SomeworkerswithgoodperformanceweresenttotheheadquartersofHuajianGroupatDongguanorthetechnicaltrainingschoolofHuajianGroupatGanzhoutolearnequipmentoperation,enterprisemanagement,andMandarin.OnreturningtoEthiopia,theywerereadytobehiredinmanagementpositions.
Since2012,HuajianGrouphashiredover4,000employees,amongwhomover3,800areEthiopianswhoarenowcompetentforthewholeprocessofshoemaking,includingleathercutting,gluing,andsewing,andcanmakeupto6,500pairsofshoesaday.HuajianGroupnowownssixmodernproductionlinesandsomerawmaterialsstorages,withanannualexportoftwomillionpairsofwomen’sshoesandaprofitmarginof10percent.
BecominganAfricanManufacturingCenter
Ethiopiaisvigorouslypromotinglabor-intensive,export-orientedprocessingindustry.Huajianlightindustryparkisnowunderconstruction,coveringanareaofover130hectaresandpossessesfloorareaof1.6millionsquaremeters.Inthefuture,theparkintendstoattractinvestmentfromotherprocessingenterprisesinthefieldsofclothing,electronics,leathersandsuitcases,transitioningfromaprocessorandmanufacturerforasingleindustrytomultipleones.
Nala,aged31,graduatedfromHunanUniversitymajoringininternationaltrade,isthepublicrelationsmanagerandassistantpresidentofHuajianInternationalShoeFactory.AlsofluentinEnglish,sheisresponsibleforthenegotiationswiththeEthiopiangovernmentforthelightindustrypark.ThevisionaryplancontrastssharplywiththetraditionalarchitecturesinAddisAbaba.“TheplanisthefutureofHuajianGroupinEthiopia,”Nalasaid,“itisworthallofmyefforts.”
Withtheburdenofalargepopulation,industrializationhasgraduallychangedthisAfricancountry.TheformerPrimeMinisterHailemariamDessalegnstressedthatEthiopiaisnowstrivingforindustrialandeconomictransformation,aimingtobecomeamanufacturingcenterofAfrica.
OntheBoaoForumforAsiaannualconference2017,JustinYifuLinexplainedthatthesuccessofHuajianGroupinEthiopiahasexertedaglobalinfluence.Nowadays,theannualforeigndirectinvestment(FDI)tothemanufacturingindustryofEthiopiaranksNo.1amongAfricancountries.MoreandmoreinternationalbuyerssetupofficesforbusinessinEthiopia.
DuringtheNPCandCPPCCmeetingsthisyear,ZhangHuarongasamemberoftheChinesePeople’sPoliticalConsultativeConference(CPPCC)wasinterviewedbyChinaToday.HesaidthattheBeltandRoadInitiativeandtheideaofbuildingacommunitywithasharedfutureformankindproposedbyXiJinping,GeneralSecretaryoftheCentralCommitteeoftheCommunistPartyofChina,directedthefutureworkforus.TheChineseentrepreneursshouldtakeontheirresponsibilitiestomakethecountryprosperousandpowerful.Talkingaboutthenextstep,ZhangHuarongsaid,“Ouraimistoprovide100,000jobsforAfricanpeopleby2030.ConnectingthedevelopmentofAfricanpeoplewithusismyunderstandingofbuildingacommunitywithasharedfutureformankind.”
HuajianGroup–theworld’sleadingwomen’sfootwearmanufacturer–isinaburgeoningOrientalIndustrialPark.
“ConnectingthedevelopmentofAfricanpeoplewithusismyunderstandingofbuildingacommunitywithasharedfutureformankind.”