Chinese work ethic in Africa

By Mark Kapchanga Source:Global Times Published: 2015-2-2 21:58:01

Africa should take advantage of investments


An unidentified Chinese railway worker drills holes on the newly put tracks on April 4, 2007 in Dondo, Angola. Photo: CFP



Michael Mwapembwa remembers vividly the day two well dressed, Chinese men approached him in Arusha, a remote town in Tanzania, for business partnership.

At first he was hesitant. "What if these 'strangers' steal my business ideas and then run away," he posed. He took time, and reflected upon the proposal. Having perennially suffered from shortage in capital, and at times unreliable markets, Mwapembwa opted to work with the two new business friends.

What had started as a small, sole proprietorship trade is today a business to reckon with. It has expanded almost 10 times, employing more than 15 people.

"We serve our electronics customers beyond Arusha to the cities of Dar es Salaam and Dodoma. We are now considering setting up other branches in Kenya, Uganda, Zambia and Rwanda," he said. Mwapembwa says the "two foreigners" did not only inject in more funds to run the electronics shop, they opened up his mind, and made him think and act like a "real" businessman. "Who knew I will one day think of doing business beyond Arusha?"

The Arusha businessman represents a few Africans who have beaten the odds, and went ahead to forge strategic partnerships with foreigners, particularly the Chinese, to enhance the growth of their businesses. This is unlike a majority, who still think the Chinese population in Africa, which now stands at more than a million, have come into Africa to not only take away their jobs, exploit their resources but also outcompete them in the businesses they do.

"It is the kind of thinking all of us must shed off. Africa was once considered a dark continent. Now, with the streaming in of investments from China, we ought to take advantage of them, and open up Africa for more foreign businesses," said Lydiah Cherotwo, an activist in Eastern Uganda.

Paradigm shift

The call for cooperation is what is revolutionizing trade in Nairobi and Mombasa, the key cities in Kenya. Indeed, my recent tour of Nairobi's River Road, Kirinyaga Road and Tom Mboya Street paints a picture of China in Africa. One that glitters with Chinese wares, particularly mobile phones, garments and radio sets.

"We have established strong ties with Chinese companies. They supply us with these electronics at affordable rates and in a timely manner. In some cases, we are even allowed to get the goods and pay for them later," said Kimani Mwaurah, a mobile phones wholesaler in Nairobi.

Mwaurah says the changing market needs in Kenya as a whole due to tough economic times have forced consumers to have a high affinity for cheap Chinese gadgets. For instance, he says mobile phones would cost as little as $15. In a continent where power connection is at less than 20 percent of homesteads, electricity supplies erratic and costly, the mobile phones, if fully charged, last for even five days. "These are the most important advantages of the Chinese-made mobile phones besides majority of them being twin sims," said a 31-year-old Mercy Wairimu, a student at the University of Nairobi.

Ms Wairimu hopes that one day, China will set up multiple mobile phones-making factories in Africa so as to cut on the time taken in ordering, packaging and importing the gadgets from China. "Such a step will create a lot of employment opportunities. As you all know, most of the youths in Africa are well schooled but lack decent jobs. The move will also open up Africa, making it to export some of the surplus products to other countries," she said.

A learning process

Instead of Africans complaining that the Chinese are coming over to take over their jobs, or businesses, former Nigerian Central Bank governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, in an opinion in the Financial Times in 2013, observed that time is ripe for Africa to see China as a competitor, and therefore treat it as such for the betterment of the continent's economy.

But it is not just in businesses where Africans ought to draw some synergy with China. One other critical area is in the labor market, says Kenyatta University Lecturer Emmanuel Barasa. "The Chinese work ethic is worth emulating. They are ever diligent, extremely hardworking people." He cites an American missionary in Beijing, who in 1985 noted that Chinese people often worked from dawn to dusk, seven days a week.

Indeed, in his book The Chinese Are Like That, Carl Crow noted, "If it is true that the devil can only find work for idle hands, then China must be a place of very limited satanic activities." This Chinese trait of being unselfish and hardworking continues today in Africa.

The classic case was in the construction of the Thika Superhighway in Kenya, where the Chinese firms working on it would work day and night, Monday to Sunday. It is the kind of culture many African firms are now adopting, to boost production.

"It is the unselfish thinking blended with hard work that has given China a global reputation of having a stable and industrious work force," said Mr Barasa.

"Whether working in the fields or in the factories, Chinese accept work as a necessity. They are willing to do more, go beyond the minimum," notes Janepher Doya, a Chinese culture specialist. Going forward, experts say Chinese multinationals operating in Africa should intensify trainings so as to ensure there is no clash in cultures between the two regions.

The author is a freelance writer. mkapchanga@gmail.com



Posted in: Africa

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