For 2014, Top employers institute identified 8 African companies for being at the forefront of providing favourable working conditions for their employees: SAP AG, which was named the number one company in the Top Employers Africa 2014 Certification Programme, is a business management software company that operates in 130 countries across the globe. The company was Certified in four African countries; Cóte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa. British American Tobacco is a leading tobacco group company chosen for operations in South Africa, Angola, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe Ernst & Young is a multinational professional services firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It was identified for operations in South Africa, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Nigeria. G4S is a leading security group operating in Botswana, South Africa, Cameroon, Cóte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria and Zambia Microsoft, this Software giant has established a firm operating human capital in Egypt, South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. Old Mutual, plc is an international long-term savings group. Established in 1845 in South Africa, it operates in Kenya, South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Orange, the French founded Telecommunications giant chosen for running business in Senegal, Uganda, Cóte d’Ivoire, Mali and Business Services Egypt. Unilever is an Anglo–Dutch multinational consumer goods company. Its products include foods, beverages, cleaning agents and personal care products. It’s selection was for operation in Ghana, South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria. The Top Employers Africa 2014 Certification results published on Friday 30th August show that leading employers in Africa continue to invest heavily in developing their people and that this is a key part of their growth strategy on the continent. The African economy is growing faster than any other continent in the world, with one-third of the continent’s countries having a GDP growth rate of more than 6 percent. According to the African Development Bank, the costs of starting a business in Africa have fallen by more than two-thirds over the past seven years while delays for starting a new business have been halved. Unfortunately, a plethora of investors still treat Africa as a country. The 54 countries in the continent have different cultures and market conditions albeit the difference seeming marginal. Therefore for one to do business they must understand factors such as political environment, market conditions and people challenges among others.
