Category: Manufacturing
Despite Rwanda-based Mara Phone’s Claims That Its New Device is “100% African,” Critics Raise a Few Doubts
Last week's launch of the new Mara Phones was widely celebrated across the continent as the company touted them to be Africa's first 'entirely home-made' smartphones. "The ...
Export, Employment, or Productivity? Chinese Investments in Ethiopia’s Leather and Leather Product Sectors
In a new working paper published on the China-Africa Research Initiative at Johns Hopkins University, prominent China-Africa professor Tang Xiaoyang from Tsinghua University in Beijing highlights the role of Chinese investments into the Ethiopian leather sector and offers key insights into the main ...
Case Study: Chinese Cement Company Builds a Solid Foundation in Zambia
China’s growing economic muscle in Africa frequently raises fears of domination. However, on the ground, these companies often create jobs and try to comply with laws aimed at strengthening local stakeholdership. A case in point is the Sinoma Cement Company, a Chinese company set up in Zambia ...
[AUDIO] Chinese Money Is Helping Africa to Become Next Manufacturing Powerhouse
Author Irene Yuan Sun argues in her now book that Africa is poised to become the world's next manufacturing boosted by Chinese investment and production expertise. With costs steadily rising in the PRC, more and more companies are looking to offshore production ...
Industrialization in Africa: Ethiopia Wants to Become the New 'Made in China'
There's a pretty good chance that some of the clothes you're wearing, the shoes on your feet and even the device you're using to read this were made in China. Even as its economy slows, China remains the world's factory, churning out billions of ...
Should Africa Follow Asia's Path to Economic Prosperity?
Author John Akhile, Sr. argues in his new book "Unleashed" that if Asia's so-called 'Tiger economies' did it, so can Africa. By leveraging the continent’s agricultural potential, minerals, raw materials, and low-cost labor, Akhile thinks that using these resources Africans can ...
From 'Made in China' to 'Made in Africa'
A growing number of Chinese companies are looking to outsource production overseas in a bid to lower costs and meet Beijing's increasingly stringent environmental laws. Ethiopia and South Africa are among the beneficiaries of this new trend as Chinese apparel, textile and even steel ...
New Era of Chinese Manufacturing in South Africa Begins
South African president Jacob Zuma personally oversaw the opening of the First Automative Works (FAW) factory in Port Elizabeth, China's single largest investment in the country. The new production facility comes at an opportune time for South Africa as BMW, GM and other car-makers ...
China's Trade Unions Think They Can Help Africa
It's a bit counterintuitive to think that a country supposedly run by a communist workers party would be so hostile to labor unions, which is the case in China. Although there are no independent Chinese unions and the few official unions there are do ...