ATanzanianworkerstitchestrousersattheTanzaniaTookuGarmentsfactoryinDaresSalaam.Thecompanyhashiredsome1,800locals,60percentofwhomarewomenCHENRAN
Inthespacious,brightandslightlynoisysewingsectionofTanzaniaTookuGarments,ShrabanKitwanaworksfastathisdesk,quicklyunhookingtwopiecesofapairoftrousersfromthedispatchingmachineandpartlystitchingthemtogetheronhissewingmachineinjust10seconds.
The21-year-oldisoneofthefewmaleworkersatthecompany’ssewingsection,workingtherefortwoyears.“Ilikethisjob,”hesmiled.“Genderisnotaproblematall.”
Groomingtalent
EstablishedinJuly2012byJ.D.UnitedManufacturingCorp.,aglobalsupplierofgarmentsandhometextilesheadquarteredinChangzhouCity,eastChina’sJiangsuProvince,thegarmentcompanyislocatedinsidetheBenjaminWilliamMkapaSpecialEconomicZoneinDaresSalaam,Tanzania.Withaninvestmentof$16million,itcovers33,000squaremeters,whichincludessewing,laundryandpackingzones.
Levi’s,TCP,andPrimarkareamongitsclientsanditsannualexportvolumehits3millionpieces.
“Ourcorecompetenceislowerprice,betterqualityandashorterdeliveryperiod[thanourcompetitors],”saidWilliamTai,GeneralManagerofthecompany.“Wecouldnothaveachievedsomuchwithoutourhardworkingstaff.”
TanzaniaTookuhassome1,800localstaff,60percentofwhomarewomen.Thecompanyhasanambitiousbusinessplan-openingthreetofourfactorieseveryyearacrossTanzaniainthecomingfiveyears.ThismeansqualifiedTanzanianworkerswouldbeintremendousdemand.
“ThemostchallengingpartindoingbusinessinTanzaniaistalenttrainingbecausemostofthelocalrecruitsarerookies,”Taisaid.
Hence,alayeredtrainingschemehasbeenintroducedtoaddresstheproblem,whereZhengHongjuan,a44-year-oldsewinglinesupervisor,playsavitalrole.
Zheng,whohadpreviouslyworkedinJ.D.United’sCambodiabranch,movedtoTanzaniatwoyearsago.Inthesewingsection,eachlinewillchoosefive“seedworkers”outof90basedontheassessmentoftheirinitialweek-longbasictraining.SupervisorslikeZhengwouldgiveintensivehands-onguidancetotheseworkers,whowouldthenbecometutorsforotherworkers.Ittakesatleasttwomonthsforarookietostartworkingintheproductionline.
“Ilikeworkingwiththelocalstaffbecausetheyarequicklearners,”saidZheng,inspectingtheproductionline.
“Poasana!(Verygood!)”Shegavethethumbs-uptoaworkerinSwahili.
Besidestrainingworkers,Taisaidthecompanyplanstohavemorelocalstaffinmiddle-levelmanagement.
PaulBakanga,thehumanresourcesmanager,isoneofthe30localmanagers.“IappreciateChineseworkingethics.Theyalwaysmeetdeadlinesandmakedecisionsfast,”the33-year-oldsaid.
Lessonstokeepinmind
TonySun,ExecutiveDirectoroftheSunshineGroup,sharesTai’sconcernovertalenttraining.“Nobusinesswillbesuccessfulwithoutbasicvocationaltrainingandeducationinthepreparatorystage,”hewarned.
Sun,whomajoredininternationaltrade,gainedafootholdinTanzaniaafteryearsinSouthAmerica,asTanzaniabeganenjoyingamorestableandfavorableenvironmentforthedevelopmentoftherealeconomy.Startingwithmining,theSunshineGrouptodayhasamyriadofbusinessesspanningenergy,agriculture,finance,building,processingandmanufacturing,aswellastourismandcatering.Thetotalinvestmentisover$100million.Thegrouphasabout1,700localemployees.
RamadhanAmir,31,switchedfromprintmediamarketingtoasalesexecutiveofSunshineIndustrialtwoyearsago.WithanMBAdegree,hefindspositiveenergyandmoreefficiencyinthedailyroutine.“ThebestpartofworkinghereisthatIcandevelopmycareerandknowaboutChinaatthesametime,”Amirsaid.QualifiedlocalemployeeslikeAmirarethefoundationofthecompany’sfuture,whichenvisionsanother15to20yearsofbusinessplans.
EliminatingculturalconflictisSun’stoppriority.“Ihaveseensomanyfailedcasesamongourpeerswhocouldnotcopewithculturaldifferencesappropriately.PreviousmanagementandoperationexperienceinChinamaynotbeapplicableherewithoutadjustments.Whatwehavebeendoingisenhancingmutualrespectandunderstanding,”Sunsaid.
AnotherpossiblecauseformanyChineseinvestors’failureinAfricaisover-optimismabouttheAfricanmarket,accordingtoSun.Investmentinrealeconomyhasabetterfuturethanintrade,buttheformerrequiresdeepermarketanalysisandorientation.AnypotentialforeigninvestorcomingtoAfricashouldalsobearinmindthattheremaynotbeawell-organizedindustrialchain.
LeoLi,CEOofSunshineIndustrial,remembersthedifficultieswhilelaunchingtheirsunfloweroilproductionline.The10-acre(40,468-square-meter)oilprocessingplantinDodoma,capitalofTanzania,startedoperationinJune2015.“Wecollectedhigh-qualityseedsdirectlyfromlocals,buttherewasanunexpecteddifficulty,”Lisaid.“Duringharvest,thefarmersdidn’thaveenoughstoragespace.Theonlyoptionforuswastobuildastorehouseimmediately.”
Afteroneandahalfyearsofoperation,Liishappytoseetheproduct,Sunbeltoil,capturing65percentofthesunfloweroilmarketshare.Heisalsoproudoftheplantservingasanexampleofthecyclicaleconomy.Aftertheoilisextracted,theresidualpartsareusedascattlefeed.Theplantalsorearscattle,andbeefissuppliedtorestaurants.
“Wehavelearnedfrompastexperiences.Wehadtopayapricebuttheknowledgeisprecious,”Lisaid.“Forinvestors,especiallysmallandmedium-sizedenterprises,thereisnoguaranteeofsuccesswhiledoingbusinessinAfrica.Gettingyourselfpreparedforthatphysicallyandmentallyhelps.”
(ReportingfromDaresSalaam,Tanzania)
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