Sexual Harassment at the Workplace: What you can do.

by Michael O' Adetu

It was around 10am on Monday morning in July 2015 when I got a call from a close friend. She was crying on the phone bitterly as she walked out of her dream job. She was sacked by her ‘boss’ because she has consistently turned down the sexual advances her boss made towards her for two years. Her story is both unfortunately and encouraging. Let me give you a quick background of her journey. For the sake of confidentiality, I will call her XXX. XXX grew up in an average family in the city of Lagos and for the family, education is a must. 

So XXX had the privilege of going through some of the best schools in Nigeria and worked for three years as a chartered accountant after graduation before proceeding to the UK for her masters. XXX then met her fiancé during her time in the UK, and they both decided to take their relationship to the next level. I have always known XXX to be full of life and friendly. I would say she is an extrovert with strong values that I believe are majorly as a result of her family background. XXX is not only a wonderful friend, she is also sound academically- she is the type of lady you would put in the class of grade A student. After completing her master’s degree, she returned to Nigeria to job-hunt as many fresh graduates would. 

XXX was then lucky to secure an interview in one of her dream company. I recall how excited I was for her telling her I know you will be fine. XXX secured the job and also got engaged during this period- what a time to truly celebrate! Anyways XXX began to experience sexual advances from her boss after working for four months. She was initially confused, sad and trying to handle the situation until things began to get out of hand. XXX then confided in me saying all that has been happening and how the workplace has been hell on earth for her because of her refusal to accept her boss sexual advances. She was perturbed to discover that her boss has had his way with other young ladies in the department and it has almost become a secret norm to accept his request in order to secure your job. 

In the midst of all she was going through in the workplace, she got married and moved in with her husband. By this time, her husband was already aware as I advised her never to keep him in the dark. She was also actively searching for another job as a plan b. Bear in mind that reporting sexual harassment at work to your employer especially when it involves someone in a top position can be highly political. There are basically no process and systems (some do have protections in place but are not effective and transparent) in place to protect victims of sexual harassment at work. As a victim, you are in most cases left with an option to either walk away or give in- this is where your values come in.

Then life happened, XXX lost her husband to a fatal car accident in August 2014. The shock of the news made her lost her 3months old pregnancy. It was really a sad period for XXX. She will spend hours crying and wondering why she had to go through such a terrifying experience. XXX received countless condolences from people in her workplace including her boss. XXX then became withdrawn and battling with depression but that did not stop her boss from making sexual advances towards her. This continued until July 2015 when she got to work and the HR gave her a sack letter. She was devastated and went straight to see her boss. Her boss told her straight away ‘sorry XXX there is nothing I can do about this, well I wish you accepted my request this would have been prevented’. She said thank you and walked out of the company. She was totally discouraged in the following months as she worked tirelessly in search of another job. 

Eventually, she was able to secure another job 7months after and found love again 3years after she lost her husband. She has moved on and now in a happy place growing in her career. Now that’s the story of XXX, there are so many young ladies out there who had to give in to such abuse and are left emotionally broken. XXX was able to pick herself up with the help of family and friends; what about thousands of young ladies who had no one to help them get back on their feet? 

This story is simply to give you an understanding of sexual harassment at the workplace. XXX is currently putting together a foundation that will fight for unfair dismissal and sexually abuse victims at the workplace. Until then, how do you handle a situation where your boss is making sexual advances towards you? (Please note that sexual advances can come from anyone- male, female and even people who are interested in same sex). Here are my thoughts on what I think you can do?

Know Your Environment

knowing your environment is important for your security and safety. By this, I do not only mean knowing your workplace environment alone; the country where you live and work is also important. This way, you will know if you can be protected against sexual harassment at work. For example, the level of protection you will have (in this context) in the UK against sexual harassment at work cannot be compared to some other countries. You really do not want to start a case in a country where there is no law that protects you against such harassment.

Do not Keep Quiet

Not informing anyone about what you are going through will only put you further in a vulnerable position. If you are lucky to work in a company that have policy and process in place, then you are better speaking up immediately. Communicate your concern with the HR. If you find yourself in a system that politically shield such predators, then you will have to speak to someone you trust and seek thoughtful advice on the best actions to take.

Try to Get Evidence

Predators of sexual harassment at work are fully aware that one way they can be easily persecuted is through solid evidence. So they make sure the act is carried out in a manner that leaves no trace. Having eye witness that can testify, audio or video recording and messages are good evidences to use in backing up your claim. Be smart to make sure that you gather your evidence(s) in a manner that will not put you in further danger.

Know What Has Been Put in Place to Protect You

One thing you will have to familiarize yourself with is your company policies that protect you at work. Your understanding of the policies that protect you against sexual harassment at work will help you to know how to conduct yourself and best way to fight your case. If this information is not made available to you, ask your HR department. Also, knowing the country laws against sexual harassment at work will empower you greatly. It will boost your confidence level and ability to confront intimidation.

Put Down a Formal Complaint

Talking about how you are being harassed sexually at work is one thing, making a formal complaint to the appropriate person(s)/authorities is another thing entirely. Formal complaint is crucial for legal case. If not documented, it did not happen.

Explore Other Options Outside of Your Organization

There are NGOs and organizations that fight for victims of sexual abuse or harassment. You can consider exploring this option if you feel you are being denied justice in your workplace.

Be Mindful of How You Interact and Appear

People have different views/opinions about how you should appear and interact at work. This is just my own advice. You need to understand that we all interpret gestures, words and appearance differently. People can interpret the things they hear, see and feel through their religious, cultural, background and experience lens. It is important that you avoid touching people inappropriately or saying words that suggest intimacy. It will be wise to just strictly follow your company policy on dress code, communication and relationship at work. This does not mean that you will be totally protected from being harassed sexually at work; at-least you know you have done your part not to pass the wrong message across.

Know When to Exit

Sometimes you might find yourself in a situation where you are not in a better position to fight your case. Probably you find yourself in an environment where the person harassing you sexually at work is being protected. Knowing the best time to exit might be your best option before things get out of hand.

Forgive Yourself and Make a Choice

One thing many people who have been through this kind of horrible experience struggle with is forgiving themselves. You need to understand that forgiveness is never about the person that has harmed you; your freedom is important for your growth. You might have given in to such harassment and end up being sexually abused even for years. Regardless of how much you really want to fight for justice, forgiving yourself is important. One way to truly begin to forgive yourself is by making a choice to remove yourself from the environment where you are being abused. Cut out every avenue of communication with your abuser.

Refuse to Give Up

Sometimes justice can be delayed and might not be served at the end. If you are a hard-nut that never give up easily, then you can push on till you get what you want which is justice. No one can truly understand the emotional trauma you might be going through and if justice will help you heal, then go for it!

I conducted a short survey to find out the age bracket of both male and female most affected by sexual harassment at work in Nigeria. Below is the result of my survey.

I must say that this result does not represent Nigeria workplace because of the volume of participants that participated. However, it does give an idea to know the age bracket most affected by sexual harassment at work. Thousands of workers are being harassed sexually at the workplace on a daily basis. Knowing what to do can prevent you from becoming a prey. Also note that sexual harassment can also come from a subordinate to a superior colleague.

Feel free to share your story with me (your identity will be kept private if you want). I will write about your experience so that other people can learn. Sharing your story and telling your truth can also help you heal if you have been abused. Kindly send email to michaeladetu1@gmail.com

I hope you find this useful.
Do you agree? Drop your comment.

How to Work With a Superior that enjoys Micromanaging.

by Michael O' Adetu

The workplace is a dynamic environment. People from different background, culture, beliefs, values, experience and interests are daily compelled to work with one and another in order to achieve the overall objective of the organisation. Having a superior that micromanage you can be stressful and emotionally challenging. You are practically not given enough room or opportunity to have control over the task given to you. This in most cases puts people under performance pressure, become less creative and much more worried about making mistake than focusing on getting the task given done. Micromanagement is just an outcome of other contributing factors from private life or organisation (can even be both). These contributing factors which I am going to be pointing out shortly are in most cases reason for lack of trust and confident to delegate down the ladder. So how would you as a passionate worker work with a superior that micromanages? Here are some points you could consider.

1. Discuss Expectations
one mistake many people make is not discussing in detail the expectations from the two end when being given a task. People that micromanage are most likely dealing with the issue of trust. Clear discussion on what you are expected to do will be useful in setting you on the path of gaining trust. Ask when you are expected to complete the task (remember to ask how frequently you are expected to provide an update about the progress of the task and in what format and form of communication are you expected to provide the progress update) and other questions you might think will be relevant. For example, if you have been given a task to find out the price the target market is willing to pay for the new product your company is working on and you are expected to submit a comprehensive report based on your findings. You will probably want to know the duration you are expected to complete the task, the resources available for the task, the number of people you will be working with, people you are expected to give progress update and the list of people you will be sharing the complete report with and so on. You’d better ask silly questions than working with an assumption that you know what you are expected to do.

2. Show that you are Credible
Your credibility at the workplace is important and determines the level of trust you get from people. If you have the habit of producing a shabby work and not meeting up with deadlines, people will perceive you to be incompetent. If this is who you are, then you are not in any position to complain about being micromanaged. Your company is still in business because people have committed their money, time and talent to keep it open. The best you can do at least is to step up and be responsible by playing your role. This is not by anyways to justify micromanagement; but you have to work hard to earn your credibility especially when your superior find it hard to trust and delegate. This will not happen overnight that I can tell you from experience. You should commit yourself to excellence knowing that you have an obligation to show that you have all it takes not to be micromanaged before you can get a good job done in time. Probably you could start by only accepting tasks you know you can do confidently.

3. Always get feedback after completing a task
Feedback is one good way to help you identify why you are being micromanaged. Sometimes it might be that you are being micromanaged because of your poor performance and not necessarily because your superior is insecure or have trust issue. Communicate to your superior why feedback is important to you. You can say ‘I would sincerely appreciate a constructive feedback from you as I believe this will help me improve in my next task and probably gain your trust in carrying out my assignment excellently’. Feedback is one good way to learn, read in between the line to identify what has not been said and probably find out how your superior perceive you as a worker.

4. Build Relationship and communicate how you feel
Most of the time issue of micromanagement in the workplace are not resolved or partially solved due to lack of communication. Not everyone is comfortable in talking about issue at the workplace (some people just do not like confrontational conversation). Not talking about issues is one of the reason there are stacks of negative emotion at the workplace; this not only limit your performance at work- your private life can also be badly affected. There is nothing wrong discussing your concerns with regard to being micromanaged at work. Be polite, choose your words carefully (not being rude or defensive) and communicate your concerns. Let your superior know how being micromanaged makes you feel about your job and how this is affecting your ability to put in your best in your job. For example, you could say ‘I would like to say thank you (put name and be mindful of culture here- this I will write about sometime soon) for giving me the opportunity to work with you and learn from you. I could not have asked for a better supervisor/manager, and I am always proud to be part of your team. I must say that I will really want you to trust me more with any task you assign to me as I feel I am being micromanaged. Often i usual get less motivated when this happens and unhappy about my job. I know I might be wrong with my conclusion but I will sincerely want you to trust me more; thank you’. Statement like this can turn the ship around for you. Also, it is wise to take out time to understand the best way to work with a superior or manager you will be spending 8 out of your 12hours in a day with. When you build relationship at work, your job will become less stressful.

In some cases, managers who are inexperience tend to micromanage and the ones that are experienced can find it hard delegating certain responsibility to a worker who is not experienced or incompetent. Whatever the case may be, it is your responsibility to prove your worth and be trusted.

Do you agree?

8 Ways Leaders Delegate Successfully

by Deborah Grayson Riegel

In their book, Hidden Value: How Great Companies Achieve Extraordinary Results with Ordinary People, authors Jeffrey Pfeffer and Charles O’Reilly claim that there is mounting evidence that delegating more responsibility for decision making increases productivity, morale, and commitment, all of which impact company culture. A 2015 Gallup study of the entrepreneurial talents of 143 CEOs on the Inc. 500 list showed that companies run by executives who effectively delegate authority grow faster, generate more revenue, and create more jobs.

According to John C. Maxwell, author of Developing the Leaders Around You, “If you want to do a few small things right, do them yourself. If you want to do great things and make a big impact, learn to delegate.”

Yet, for many leaders, delegating feels like something they know they should do, but don’t do. And the roadblock often begins at the top. Senior leaders often struggle with knowing what they can delegate that would actually feel helpful to them, or how to delegate responsibility and not just tasks, or what responsibilities could serve as a learning and growth opportunity for others below them. In addition, senior executives (like others in the organization) may not have had role models along the way to show them how to delegate successfully.  And, of course, there’s a perceived reputational risk. Will delegating make them look like they don’t know their stuff, or like they’re slacking off themselves?

When the senior leaders of an organization can’t or won’t delegate, the culture suffers. In his book, The Art of Being Unreasonable, author, philanthropist, and billionaire CEO Eli Broad writes, “The inability to delegate is one of the biggest problems I see with managers at all levels.” 

Before leaders can successfully and effectively delegate, they need to understand their own resistance. In Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization, Harvard Graduate School of Education professors Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey suggest that leaders state their goal and then describe the behaviors that are stalling their efforts. For instance, a senior sales leader might want to delegate follow-up calls to big customers to his sales team, but realizes that he hasn’t updated his notes in the CRM database, or he might simply be in the habit of making the follow-up calls himself before members of the team can get to them.

Kegan and Lahey then suggest that leaders examine these behaviors and ask themselves how they’d feel if they did the opposite. What if updating the CRM database in a timely manner meant pushing off other, more important activities? What if not calling customers meant that they felt ignored or disrespected, and they took their business elsewhere? These concerns activate the “emotional immune system,” which tries to ward off feelings of fear, overwhelm, loss of control, and disappointment. For the senior leader to start delegating and stick with it, he needs to address these feelings, challenge his own assumptions about “what if,” and try small, low-risk delegation experiments to see whether his assumptions are rooted in the truth or in his desire for safety. In addition, team members to whom tasks are delegated should undertake a similar process in order to identify their concerns and challenge their own assumptions about what might happen if they take on new tasks, roles, and responsibilities.

Once a leader has begun to shift his or her mindset, it’s time to start shifting behaviors. In my own work as a leadership coach, I have identified eight practices of leaders who delegate successfully:

1. They pick the right person — and it isn’t always about who can do it. Who needs to develop these skills? Who has capacity? Who has shown interest? Who is ready for a challenge? Who would see this as a reward? Successful delegators also explain why they chose the person to take on the task.
2. They’re clear about what the person is responsible for and how much autonomy they have. In Drive: The Surprising Science About What Motivates Us, Daniel Pink writes that people often want autonomy over task, team, technique, and time. Successful delegators let their team members know exactly where they have autonomy and where they don’t (yet).
3. They describe the desired results in detail. This includes setting clear expectations about the outcome (“what it is”), how the task fits into the bigger picture (“why we’re doing it”), and criteria for measuring success (“what it should look like when done well”).
4. They make sure that team members have the resources they need to do the job, whether it’s training, money, supplies, time, a private space, adjusted priorities, or help from others.
5. They establish checkpoints, milestones, and junctures for feedback so that they neither micromanage nor under-lead.
6. They encourage new, creative ways for team members to accomplish goals. It’s important for delegators to set aside their attachment to how things have been done in the past, so that they can invite, recognize, and reward novel approaches that work.
7. They create a motivating environment. Successful delegators know when to cheer-lead, coach, step in, step back, adjust expectations, make themselves available, and celebrate successes.
8. They tolerate risks and mistakes, and use them as learning opportunities, rather than as proof that they shouldn’t have delegated in the first place.

Delegating well helps leaders maximize their resources, ensuring that they’re focusing on their highest priorities, developing their team members, and creating a culture where delegation isn’t just expected — it’s embedded in the culture.

Do you agree?

 About the Author

Deborah Grayson Riegel is a principal at The Boda Group, a leadership and team development firm. She also teaches management communication at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business.

What People Hate About Being Managed by Algorithms, According to a Study of Uber Drivers

What People Hate About Being Managed by Algorithms, According to a Study of Uber Drivers

by Mareike Möhlmann and Ola Henfridsson.

Companies are increasingly using algorithms to manage their remote workforces. Called “algorithmic management,” this approach has been most widely adopted in gig economy companies. For example, ride-hailing company Uber substantially increases its efficiency by managing some three million workers with an app that instructs drivers which passengers to pick up and which route to take.

Being managed in this way offers some benefit to self-employed workers as well: for example, Uber drivers are free to decide when and for how long they would like to work and which area they would like to serve. However, our research reveals that algorithmic management is also frustrating to workers, and their resentment can lead them to behave subversively with the potential to cause real harm to their companies. Our research also suggests some ways that companies can mitigate these concerns while still taking advantage of the benefits of management by algorithm.

Together with Lior Zalmanson (Tel Aviv University) and Robert W. Gregory (University of Virginia), we conducted a multi-method study of Uber drivers in New York and London. We collected data by informally and formally interviewing 34 drivers, observing drivers in action, analyzing more than 1,000 online forum posts, and reviewing media coverage of Uber in several waves between December 2015 and September 2018.

We found that Uber drivers have three areas of consistent complaints about working “for” algorithms, concerns that we’ve also seen in other companies using algorithmic management:

Constant surveillance. As soon as they log onto the Uber app, drivers are watched and scrutinized by the platform’s algorithms; the app tracks their GPS location, speed, and acceptance rate of customer requests. It instructs them which riders to pick up where, and how to get to the riders’ destinations. If the drivers diverge from the app’s instructions they can be penalized or even banned from the platform. Regardless of whether the attention comes through an app or in person, we know that scrutiny of work can reduce productivity.

From our study we found that drivers found performance evaluations in the form of customer ratings particularly frustrating. We believe this may be because they amplify Uber drivers’ negative feelings about constant surveillance with an additional layer of technology-mediated attention.

Little transparency. While the app is learning a lot about them, Uber drivers find it frustrating how little they know about the app. They find the lack of transparency of the underlying logic of the complex algorithms frustrating, believing it to be an unfair system which manipulates them subtly without their knowledge or consent. (Indeed, Uber has previously admitted to drawing on insights from behavioral science to nudge drivers to work longer hours).

Uber drivers, as well as other gig economy workers such as courier and delivery workers at Postmates and Deliveroo, are demanding more transparency about the allocation of jobs, the compilation of their ratings, and their payment structure. However, companies such as Uber argue they can’t reveal the secret recipe of their algorithms to competitors. Furthermore, recent advances in AI and machine learning mean that algorithms can now learn and dynamically adjust to any given environment, allowing for the automation of more sophisticated tasks (such as managing the workforce). But the more sophisticated these algorithms get, the more opaque they are, even to their creators.

Dehumanization. Drivers at Uber report feeling equally lonely, isolated, and dehumanized. They don’t have colleagues to socialize with or a team or community to be part of. They lack the opportunity to build a personal relationship with a supervisor. Those on crowd-work platforms like Amazon Mechanical Turk have raised similar complaints as they conduct “micro-tasks” such as classifying content or participating in surveys.

Drivers have responded to their various frustrations with these algorithms by identifying clever ways to work around them. For instance, one driver in the Uberpeople.net forum wrote: “Play the system, don’t let it play you. We all know that these companies like to offer better incentives to drivers that miss some time. So, drive Uber for one week, Juno next, Lyft third and etc. I switch between Uber/Juno weekly.”

They are also angry enough — and feel disempowered enough — that they are finding creative ways to make their displeasure known; for instance, drivers are gaming the system by artificially causing surge pricing. They are also getting political; especially in the gig economy, drivers of ride-hailing services and couriers seek to compensate for the social isolation they experience in their every-day routine by actively engaging in online communities, but companies themselves aren’t involved in those platforms. Instead, more-adversarial union-type organizations have sprung up as drivers or couriers look to support each other, such as Seattle-based workers’ rights organization Working Washington, which drew together couriers delivering for Postmates, DoorDash, and other on-demand services.

In order to address these challenges and mitigate their risks to the business — and, not least, to implement ethical practices — we suggest that companies who manage all or part of their workforce through algorithms:

1. Share information. In theory, algorithmic management can increase transparency, since even learning algorithms that are used to manage workers reflect a set of rules and procedures that comply with the strategic goals of upper management. It may not be possible to share the algorithm itself with workers, but company leadership can and should share with them the data and goals that informed it.
2. Invite feedback. To counterbalance the unidirectional commands that the algorithm hands down to drivers, companies should find ways to democratically include them in decision-making, for example by involving them into committees or councils that discuss and negotiate work related internal regulations. Getting workers actively involved in discussions about the design of algorithm-driven systems would do much to build more engaged and supportive workforces.
3. Build in human contact. People need people. Organizations should develop formal, supportive communities where workers feel like members and can make social connections. Adding a human element to the way people are managed will help workers feel less like they are being treated as machines. For instance, some of the drivers in our study spoke fondly of New York ride-hailing firm Juno (acquired by Gett in 2017), which, early in its existence, employed an extensive human customer support system that eagerly helped drivers with questions or problems.
4. Build trust. Implementing benefits that improve worker’s welfare, such as providing financial support in case of illness, or better sick pay or maternity leave, may be a first step to humanizing the company and mitigating the anger of employees who are managed by faceless algorithms.

Regulators across the globe are already seeking to implement regulations around some of these recommendations in order to benefit an algorithmically managed workforce. For instance, in 2017, it was ruled that Uber will need to pay UK-based drivers a minimum wage, and provide sick and holiday pay. Given the rapid pace of technological progress, and the tempting economic benefits for companies, we believe that algorithmic management will become more common in the coming years. As more companies manage their labor force in this way — and as they incur the anger of the workforce that makes their core offerings possible — it becomes that much more incumbent upon them to take some of these steps on their own.

Do you agree?

Manufacturing In Africa: Can Cheap Labour Make Africa The Manufacturing Hub Of The World, Just Like China?

By Michael O' Adetu

The world is changing and advancement in technology is making the manufacturing process even more efficient. Cheap labour will not continue to be a competitive advantage for countries like China, India and some other Asian countries. This is because advancement in AI technology will automate the majority of the manufacturing processes, especially for basic manufacturing that employs people on production lines. Cheap labour has served as an incentive for businesses from different parts of the world, to outsource a part or the whole of their product development to countries like India and China. Under the technological system, this will no longer be the case.

Automation will not only cut out the need for human labour in basic manufacturing but will create more efficiency in terms of eliminating human errors, bring an increase in product quality and quantity output and become very useful in gathering data for preventive maintenance of manufacturing machines. There have been comments on the possibility of Africa becoming the preferred destination for manufacturing in years to come due to cheap labour. Though some of those arguments could be true, the application of technology to manufacturing, especially in this era of fourth industrial revolution does not in any way put Africa in a strategic position to compete globally as the preferred destination for cheap manufacturing labour.

Considering the level of investment a country like China has committed to AI and machine learning in order to maintain operational excellence in manufacturing, African countries will probably need to rethink the best way to compete. The current situation across the majority of African countries clearly does not show the readiness of technological and human capital (skilled) to provide cost-effective manufacturing services to the world. China has become the manufacturing hub of the world because its government put appropriate policies in place, provides support and good infrastructure for small manufacturing businesses, and leverages on the large population working together to provide the cheap cost of manufacturing. These elements are not currently present in the majority of African countries. Most of them can boast of mainly a large population.

This is not a pessimistic analysis but an attempt to point out factors that must be taken into consideration by investors with interests in any of the manufacturing value chains in Africa. The capacity needed to put African manufacturing on the global map is not just there at the moment and the competition is becoming fiercer due to technological advancements. The competition across the world within the manufacturing space in this age and time is more against advance AI technology and machine learning.

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization report, presented in February 2019 shows that ‘African countries continue to struggle in their efforts to catch up with the industrial development of the rest of the world. The average share of manufacturing in GDP of African least developed countries (LDCs) has further dropped to 8.3 per cent compared to the 19.6 per cent average of the developing countries and emerging industrial economies group. This represents a serious challenge to the Sustainable Development Goal 9 target of doubling the MVA share in GDP in LDCs by 2030.’

During the 50th year anniversary celebration of the African Union, leaders across African countries engaged in high-level discussions which led to the adoption of Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. At the core of this agenda is the desire to push forward sustainable development and inclusive growth for all African countries. The question I think that need immediate answer will be should manufacturing in African countries focus, at least for now, on meeting the demands of the African continent? I have outlined my thoughts on the direction I believe African manufacturing can take for now, in preparation for years to come

Reduce Cost of Doing Business

Many businesses (Especially small manufacturing businesses) close down or underperform in Africa, due to the enormous cost of doing business. There can be no true development within the manufacturing space in Africa when the cost of doing business is high. The government, through policymakers, must endeavor to be committed to addressing key issues like electricity, security, infrastructure that provides good accessibility to seaports and roads, access to funds with reasonable interest rates, corruption in government and related institutions, security, tax and levies. The setting up of the free trade zone has been able to address some of these issues in countries like Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda and some other African countries, to help bring down the cost of manufacturing. However, more work still needs to be done as it is still difficult for small manufacturing businesses to take advantage of the opportunity.

Encourage Free Movement of Goods Across Africa

Over the past four years, there have been serious discussions about members of the African Union signed a free trade agreement that allows the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA). This is a movement in the right direction as long as the common interest of all the citizens is duly protected. This agreement, when signed, will allow inter-African trade and that in itself allows access to a larger market with much bigger demand and supply matrix. The government should, therefore, work towards removing trade restriction to allow regional integrated trade networks at all levels. There is no need to commit resources for industrialization in Africa, just to compete in the provision of manufacturing services to other parts of the world. This is not realistic at the moment as the competition is not just against cheap human labour, rather it is against sophisticated technology which the African manufacturing space lacks. The African market is large enough and the manufacturing businesses in operation at the moment are not enough to meet the market demand across Africa. Having the discussion and getting signatures for the CFTA in Africa will create massive economic opportunities, not only for manufacturing businesses but for other industries across the continent.

Investment in Education and Human Capital Development

A large population only becomes a competitive advantage for any country when the people are educated and empowered with skills that are useful (in this context) within the manufacturing sector. Africa needs to invest in education that leads to both intellectual capability and skilled workers. Manufacturing businesses are constantly in need of these skilled workers, especially for basic manufacturing. There are currently not enough young skilled workers to meet the labour demands of manufacturing in Africa and this situation has left manufacturing businesses with no choice than to source for labour offshore. One way to begin to address this is for the government to encourage schools that teach vocational skills and ensure that the curriculum of traditional schools focuses on skill acquisition. Unemployment is one thing but unemployability is another thing entirely- The former is as a result of lack of jobs but the latter is caused by lack of required skills.

Conclusion

There is clearly no doubt that Africa has huge potential for manufacturing, considering its population and geographical location, just to mention a few. However, to have a successful manufacturing sector requires more than these, as demonstrated in China. Right policies, state of the art equipment, access to finance, access to skilled workers and sophisticated technology are some of the key elements to take into consideration. Lack of these elements does not put Africa in a strategic position to compete globally. Competition, as has been established in this piece, will come more from sophisticated AI technology and machine learning than cheap human labour and policies. African manufacturing should focus on serving the African market for now. A public-private partnership should be encouraged by government bodies across African regions to create an enabling environment for inclusive growth and sustainable development within the manufacturing sector. This is important for the African market because manufacturing will definitely play a major role in the development of the continent.

Do you agree? Share your thoughts