Samsung Executives Join Ghanaian Employees

Bravo Kim – Managing Director, Samsung Ghana

This week Samsung Electronics’ top executives from its Korean headquarters joined local Samsung employees in Ghana to volunteer their time as part of the company’s annual Employee Volunteer Program (EVP).

The EVP will include several projects aimed at meeting the practical needs of communities in which it operates, including the provision of much-needed ICT resources and the restoration of community centres such as schools and sports facilities.

Samsung has worked with passion and energy to build a successful business in Africa, expanding its presence on the continent from 15 to 42 countries in the last year alone.
Bravo Kim, Managing Director of Samsung’s Ghana office, noted “As Samsung Africa has grown, we have strived to act ethically and participate generously as a corporate citizen in the many African communities where we operate – to be more than just ‘present,’ but to positively impact the communities where our consumers live. This week’s EVP is one expression of that commitment.

In Ghana, Samsung employees will be volunteering at the Obom Kojoman Primary and Junior High School and Roman Catholic Primary and Junior High School. They will be giving the premises of the schools a ‘facelift’ by planting a garden, building a fence, setting up a networked ICT lab, repairing desks and chairs and improving existing sports facilities.

In addition, employees will be engaging children by facilitating a series of classes (drawing and painting, origami, science, computers), holding a sports day and a cultural exchange experience.

Samsung’s EVP is part of a broader corporate goal to directly impact the lives of 5 million people in Africa by 2015. “In addition to addressing practical needs of the communities we work and live in, we’re harnessing our legacy of innovation to transform communities and lives for the better, preserve our planet for generations to come and open new opportunities for people. We’re doing this by developing products and programs uniquely built for Africa.”

Samsung is building innovative products – branded ‘Built for Africa’ designed to meet Africa’s unique needs and conditions –for example the Deep-foam SCOUT, a washing machine that saves up to 30% water use or ‘Dura-cool’ refrigerators with  a ‘cool pack’ that allows refrigerators to stay cool without power. And Samsung is investing in programs with a goal to develop 10 000 Electronic Engineers by 2015 such as Electronic Engineering Academies and school-based Internet labs; investing in African R&D Institutes and Universities to inform and generate innovative ideas about product planning and development; partnering with African universities to develop technology content and applications specifically for Africa.

Samsung’s EVP events are taking place in Ghana and Zambia this week and will be rolled out in Sudan, DRC Congo and Ethiopia in August.

From Business Desk