ChinesecompaniesinAfricacreatejobsandtransferskillsforfuturelocaldevelopmentAsyou[Chinesecompanies]comeandestablishyourself,learnaboutthelocalcultureandopportunities,integrateyourselfwiththelocalbusinesscommunity,andbuildonskillsdevelopmentprograms.OmidKassiri,McKinsey&CompanyPartner,NairobiChristinaNaidooisonamissiontobreaktheglassceilinginamale-dominatedindustry.TheChiefOperatingOfficer(COO)ofHuaweiTechnologiesSouthAfricahaspaidherduesintheworldofinformationandcommunicationstechnology(ICT)andisnowgivingback.Naidooacknowledgesthestruggletogettowheresheistoday.StartingoutasanoperatorinTelkom,Africa鈥檚largestintegratedcommunicationscompany,shefeltalotofpressure.鈥淚wastheonlynonwhitefemale[inmydepartment].Themaleworkersunderminedmeandtheygavemeadifficulttime.SoIworkedextremelyhardandprovedmyself,鈥漷heSouthAfricanrecalls.BeforejoiningHuawei-China鈥檚leadingICTsolutionsprovider-in2000,Naidoo,whois45thisyear,hadalreadyworkedfor12yearsintheICTindustry.Asanonwhitefemale,sheappreciatesthegrowthopportunitiesheremployerhasprovidedherwith.ShesaidsheisgratefultoHuaweiforassistingherinapplyingforfundingfromtheSouthAfricanGovernmenttocompleteherMBAcoursein2016.NaidoosaidpartofHuawei鈥檚localizationstrategyaimsatplacingmoreSouthAfricansinleadershiproles,withtheemphasisbeingonwomen,insupportoftheUN鈥檚InternationalTelecommunicationUnion鈥檚effortstoincreasetheparticipationofwomenintheICTindustry.Whileworkinginthemanagementteam,shealsofeelsshehasanobligationtowardherowncountry,whichshesaidhasashortageofskills.鈥淗uaweicomeswiththeskills-setwedon鈥檛haveinSouthAfrica.It鈥檚ourresponsibilityasthemanagementtomakesureourtrainingprogramsarecorrectlypositionedtoclosethat[skills]gap[betweenChinaandSouthAfrica],鈥漵hesaid,addingthatthecompanyintendstocreatemoreopportunitiesforfemaleemployeesandprovidethemwithbursaries,trainingprogramsandonlinecourses.Tocreateanenvironmentforemployeestolearnandgrow,Huaweiestablishedane-learningplatformtoencourageemployeestoaccessonlinetrainingcoursesanytimeandanywhere.鈥淭hosehigh-qualitytrainingcourseskeepusuptodatewiththelatestpracticalskillsindifferentsectorsoftheICTindustry,allowingustoenhanceknowledge,developpersonalcompetenceandkeeppacewiththeknowledgeeconomy,鈥漵aid33-year-oldPamelaKhonyane,anadministrationspecialist.Naidooalsofeltthecompanyprovidedherwithaplatformtodevelopforfuturechallenges.鈥淲henyouworkinanoperationenvironment,thereisnothingcon-stant.Everydayisachallenge.Andwiththedevelopmentoftechnology,itpushesmetocontinuouslylearn,developandgrow,鈥漵hetoldChinAfrica.HuaweialsosupportsICTeducationinlocalcommunitieswherethecompanyoperates.IthashelpedlaunchlearningprogramswithpartnerKhulisani,anestablishmentprovidingassistanceandopportunityforindividualswithadisabilitytodevelopvocationalandentrepreneurialskills,toofferfreecomputerskillstrainingtoschoolsforstudentslivingwithdisabilities.Inadditionthecompanyhasplannedtohelptrain1,000youngSouthAfricansinICTinChinaoverthenextfiveyearsandwillsetupHuaweilaboratoriesinSouthAfricanuniversitiesforusebystudentsandthepublic,sothatthosewithskillscanbecomemoreemployable.HuaweihasdonebusinessinSouthAfricaformorethan15yearsandiscurrentlyoneofthecountry鈥檚mainprovidersoftelecommunicationsequipment.Naidoonotedthathercompanyplacesgreatemphasisonlocalization.HuaweiSouthAfricahasmorethan1,000employees,withover60percentbeinglocal.NaidooisjustoneexampleofthethousandsofAfricanemployeesinChinesecompaniesbasedonthecontinent,whicharelocalizingtheiroperationsastheyexpandacrossAfrica.Thejobopportunitiesforlocals,trainingofAfricanprofessionalsandtransferringtechnologyandskillsarebenefitinglocalcommunities.LocalizingbusinessManyChinesecompaniesinAfricaarefacingthesamechallenge:lackofskilledlaborforce.Thischallengecreatesobstaclestodoingbusinessandisheightenedbythebraindrain.Statisticsshowthatmorethan10percentofAfrica鈥檚highlyeducatedprofessionalsliveandworkonothercontinents,accordingtotheWorldMigrationinFiguresjointlyreleasedbytheOrganizationforEconomicCooperationandDevelopmentandUNDepartmentofEconomicandSocialAffairsinOctober2013.
COURTESYPHOTOSSouthAfricanstudentsinthe鈥淪eedsfortheFuture鈥漰rogramlearntheVoiceoverInternetProtocoltechnologyinShenzheninNovember
SouthAfricanstudentsinthe鈥淪eedsfortheFuture鈥漰rogramvisitHuaweiHeadquartersinShenzhen
Inaddition,withincreasingunemploymentratesthreateningsocialstabilityinmanyAfricancountries,hiringlocalstaffatforeign-investedcompaniesiswelcomerelief.Therefore,creatingapoolofskilledworkersthroughvarioustrainingprogramsisapriorityformanyChinesecompanies.TheChinaRoadandBridgeCorp.(CRBC),constructingtheMombasa-NairobiStandardGaugeRailwayProjectinKenya,isanotherChinesecompanyattachinggreatimportancetolocalization,accordingtotheprojectDeputyManagerLiJuguang.Theprojectiswellunderwayandhascreatedmorethan38,000jobs,providingemploymenttoKenyanstoworkasengineers,carpenters,masons,techniciansandgeneralworkers.Inaddition,CRBCprioritizestechnologytransferandtrainingoflocalemployeestomeetthedemandofqualifiedpersonnelforKenya鈥檚railwayconstructionandoperations.ManyKenyansarelearninghowtooperateawidevarietyofmachinesimportedfromChina.鈥淐hineseengineersworkwithourKenyanworkersandteachthemhigh-endengineeringskillssothatKenyanscangainthetechnicalknowledgeofrailwayconstruction,鈥漵aidAlexanderWambuaMuindiNdivo,aKenyanstaffworkingfortheproject.鈥淭heprojectischangingthelivesofmanyofus.鈥滳hinaNationalPetroleumCorp.(CNPC),China鈥檚largestoilandgasproducerandsupplier,hasforyearsprovidedsystematictrainingprogramsandcultivatedlocalprofessionalsintheoilindustryinSudanthroughon-the-jobtrainingandtrainingworkshopsinSudanandChina.鈥淲ehavedevelopedapoolofprofessionaltalentinoilexplorationandproduction,refiningandchemicals,engineeringconstructionandoilfieldservices,promot-ingsustainabledevelopmentofSudan鈥檚oilindustry,鈥漵aidXuXiaoling,DirectorofCorporateSocialResponsibilityResearchOfficeatCNPCEconomicsandTechnologyResearchInstitute.WithChina-Africacooperationexpanding,thenumberofChinesecompaniesinAfricakeepsgrowing,exceeding3,000now.Bytheendof2015,thereweremorethan300Chinesecompanies,includingrepresentativeoffices,inSouthAfrica,statisticsfromtheSouthAfrica-ChinaEconomicandTradeAssociationshowed.Observersnotedthatinthiscontext,ChinesecompaniesinvestinginAfricaneedtohavealong-termmindset.鈥淎syou[Chinesecompanies]comeandestablishyourself,learnaboutthelocalcultureandopportunities,integrateyourselfwiththelocalbusinesscommunity,andbuildonskillsdevelopmentprograms,鈥漵uggestedOmidKassiri,McKinsey&CompanyPartnerintheNairobiOfficeinanexclusiveinterviewwithChinAfrica.JustasKassirisuggested,Huaweicooperateswidelywithlocaltelecommunicationsoperators,privateenterprisesandthegovernment,andhasbecomeakeystrategicpartnerindevelopingadigitalsocietyinSouthAfrica.AndforChinesecompaniesoperatinginAfricathereisalsothedesiretopromotecross-culturalunderstanding.Huaweiisonecompanythathastakenupthischallenge.SinceJune2016,thecompany鈥檚SouthAfricanemployeeshavebeengiventheopportunitytolearntheChineselanguageandculture.Thisisaimedathelpinglocalstaffimprovecommunicationintheworkplace.Naidoobelievesthatthecompanycannotsucceedwithoutthecommunity.鈥淚fwehavegoodcorporatesocialresponsibilityinitiatives,wewillbemoreacceptedbythecommunityinwhichweoperate,鈥漵hesaid.CA(ReportingfromSouthAfrica)CommentstoScantheQRcodetowatchavideoontheinterviewwithChristinaNaidoo.