Andrew Stegmann

The best company to work for in Africa is?

Cape Town – Procter and Gamble is the top firm to work for in Africa, with East African Breweries and Microsoft taking the second and third spots respectively.

This is according to the first ever employee-driven survey ranking the 100 best companies to work for in Africa, which is published in the January issue of African Business magazine.

Also making the top 100 best employers were DStv, Total, Shell, JP Morgan, Ecobank, GE and Dangote. The African Development Bank, the World Bank Group and Nestle were identified as the three companies that the most of the 13 242 respondents would be interested in working for, having been reviewed the most times, though their final scores were not as high as any companies in the top 10.

The survey is the only independent survey of all 54 African markets and based on 29 separate global, local and pan-African attraction drivers used to define a great employer and that respondents from Africa’s talent pool provided their views on organisations that they would be most interested in working for.

It also provides data-driven analysis designed to enable companies to better adapt their talent strategies.

The survey is spearheaded by leading African recruitment specialists Global Career Company in association with Towers Watson.

“The lessons to be taken forward from the Employer of Choice study will make a lasting impact on the African talent landscape, as the best adapt to get better and those who did not make it this time strive to catch up” said Rupert Adcock, Founder and Managing Director of Global Career Company.

“When the numbers came in, I expected to see a dominance of the bigger companies and the multinationals. And that is the case. Some companies did much better than I anticipated however, and that goes for the top 3,” said African Business Publisher Omar Ben Yedder.

“It is credit to them and their policies that they have made the top spots. I was also happy to see some strong African groups competing with the more established names. I’m sure that more will reach the Top 100 next year.”

The research contributes significantly to the debate on how workers in Africa is compensated, said Yves Duhaldeborde, who is a director at Towers Watson.

“It is clear that unlike many developed economies, base pay isn’t as an important a driver. Employers need to look at how to incentivise their workforce through initiatives that encourage new skills and promote opportunities to make a difference to the organisation.”

Originally posted here on Fin24.com website

Andrew Stegmann

Chinese migrants in Africa confront new challenges as economy worsens

chinesemigrantsThousands of Chinese migrants who settled in Africa over the past ten years now face mounting uncertainty as economic growth slows across the continent and back home in China. While there are no reliable estimates as to how many Chinese migrants there are in Africa, experts believe the population to be somewhere between one and two million people.
The Chinese expatriate and immigrant communities in Africa are extremely diverse, and for a certain slice of that community the new, grim economic realities pose real challenges. Many are either too poor or too financially invested in Africa to go anywhere else.
Dr. Yoon June Park is one of the world’s leading experts on Chinese migration in Africa. Dr. Park is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the African studies department at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. She joins Eric & Cobus to discuss what impact the slowing global economy will have on China’s migrant population in Africa.

This article was published here

Andrew Stegmann

Ethiopia Launches First Air Ambulance Transport Service

etheopiaEast African Aviation, a private company, has launched Ethiopia’s first ambulance transportation service.
The company is owned by Capt. Mulat Lemlemayehu, a former commercial pilot at the Ethiopian airlines who also owns an aviation school and air charter service.
It’s the first air ambulance service in Ethiopia with aircraft equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment and licensed, medically trained personnel to provide air transportation for those requiring prompt medical attention in East Africa.
“With the state-of-the-art medical equipment fitted in the air ambulance, we specialize in transporting patients with the same level of care that would be expected from a hospital ICU,” Lemlemayehu said. “Air ambulance has been nonexistent in our country.”
Ethiopia has more than 90 million people, a tourist hub in the region and Addis Ababa is the diplomatic capital of Africa with a large international community, he said.
He told reporters that East African Aviation has a team pilots who have served Ethiopian Airlines for years.
Lemlemayehu founded the company after working for Ethiopian Airlines as a commercial pilot for 39 years

This article was published here

Andrew Stegmann

A First For Africa: Solar-Powered Airport

150226GeorgeAirport-png-620x350George Airport in South Africa’s Western Cape Province today became Africa’s first and only regional airport powered with an energy mix that includes solar, according to a prepared statement by the state-owned airport management company that operates it.
Airports Company South Africa is a state-owned company accountable to South Africa’s Minister of Transport. It manages nine airports in South Africa.
The 200-square-meter solar power plant was launched today on the grounds of George Airport. Construction took six months to complete at a cost of 16 million rand ($995,000).
The first phase will supply 41 percent of the airport’s current energy demand. The balance of energy will be drawn from the national grid with supply capacity steadily increased according to demand. The plant is designed to deliver 750 kilowatts of power to the airport once complete.
Photovoltaic technology generates electricity from solar radiation. The use of renewable energy is in line with the Airports Company South Africa’s sustainability goals, the company said. The company wants to reduce its reliance on the national power grid.

This article was published here