Angela Dean, director of global business development at Partner Africa, a social enterprise nonprofit based in Nairobi, Kenya, that provides ethical audit and assessment services, as well as capacity building and training, drew from her firm’s experiences in auditing to point out some of the issues companies potentially would find in the supply chain in various countries across Africa.
She raised these issues during a webinar in February on “Exploring Africa Trade,” which was organized by the American Apparel and Footwear Association as part of its Global Access Series. She also discussed five major challenges of doing business in Africa.
“The commitment that’s required to overcome these is looking at, not just auditing but also putting in a system and a process for dealing with improving compliance and building capacity, and forming partnerships and strong relationships with the supplier side,” Dean said. “To overcome these, it’s not just a case of every year having an audit—the same issues abound over and over again. It’s looking at how can we actually overcome these issues so that in the next audit that comes through, those issues are either alleviated or are in the process of getting better.”
She stressed that overcoming supply chain issues in Africa “really depends on the commitment of suppliers and the brands they are working with. Some brands are more forward and are progressing in meeting the challenges.”
Supply chain issues and their root causes are:
| ISSUES | ROOT CAUSES |
| Overtime payments/rates & excessive overtime
|
* Poor record keeping
* Inaccurate calculation of piece rates * Compensation with days off instead of wages * High season particularly on the agricultural sector |
| Discrimination and harassment within the workforce
|
* Lack of understanding of worker rights
* Lack of management and supervisory skills * Cultural differences |
|
Use of personal protective equipment (PPE)
|
* Lack of equipment
* Low worker awareness of importance of use * Poor enforcement * Workers (mainly subcontractors) made to pay for use |
|
Pay slips
|
* Non provision
* Missing information/absence of detail required * Not in native language of the workforce |
|
Inability to comply, or sustain compliance
|
* Lack of/inadequate systems
* Lack of capacity to develop and implement proper systems * Lack of commitment from management/owner * Lack of knowledge of the benefits of getting it right |
