A ground-breaking Pan-African MOU has been signed between CHIETA, the Chemical Industries SETA, and the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) in Accra, Ghana. CEIBS has campuses in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Zurich and Accra. It is ranked as one of the top business schools globally.
The agreement was signed by Yershen Pillay, CHIETA CEO, and Professor Matthew Kwame Tsamenyi, Director of CEIBS, at the school in Ghana on 27 August 2022, marking the beginning of a collaboration that will drive innovation in skills development and training on the continent. Professor Tsamenyi intimated that this is yet another example of CEIBS Africa’s pan-African quest and an opportunity to build capacity on the continent.
The wide-ranging objectives of the agreement, which is in place until 31 March 2025, include:
- Supporting corporate entrepreneurs within the chemical sector to boost economic growth through the CEIBS’s Entrepreneurial Innovation for Impact programme.
- Funding for learning programmes and short skills programmes on innovation excellence.
- Implementation support CHIETA’s SMART Skills Centres in rural areas, establishing a CHIETA - CEIBS Centre for Innovation Leadership.
- Collaboration on digital training initiatives.
According to Yershen Pillay, CEO of CHIETA, “This is the first ever Pan-African agreement between a business school in Ghana and a skills authority in South Africa. It aligns perfectly with CHIETA’s four strategic pillars – innovation, digitisation, collaboration, and transformation – and its focus on the successful delivery of its skills development mandate through cross-sector collaboration and international partnerships.”
He says, “Our Vision 2025 is comprehensive and agile, and it enables excellent scope for international collaborative partnerships that ensure we innovate for impact. Our exciting collaboration with CEIBS Africa will enable implementing best practices from China, Europe, and Ghana that support the growth of South African SMMEs in the chemical sector including new opportunities that may arise from the African Free Trade Continental Agreement (AfCFTA).”
CHIETA’s role in the agreement includes sourcing corporate entrepreneurs within the sector who can be upskilled, and identifying 4IR-linked programmes that can be beneficial to skills development within the sector.
CEIBS Africa’s mission is to support and train highly competent innovation-oriented managers and executives to lead and grow their organisations in the increasingly dynamic African economic environment. These are leaders who are navigating globalisation and international competition for the benefit of their organisations and the wider African economy.
CEIBS has a focus on corporate social responsibility in Africa. From their facilities in Accra and other locations across the continent, it regularly provides business management classes for African government officials and business executives.
“Pan-African collaboration boosts diversity and innovation in our respective countries thereby creating new value and improved opportunities for growth. We are grateful to CEIBS Africa for joining collaborating with CHIETA and bringing their expertise, experience, and new insights to South Africa’s chemical industries. We look forward to seeing the fruits of this agreement in months to come.”
At the signing ceremony in Accra, CEIBS also launched its Corporate Innovation Lounge (CACIL) which is designed to help corporates improve their enterprises to be innovative and agile enough to adjust to changes in the future without losing their value. CACIL’s three pillars are continuous strategy, continuous learning, and continuous innovation. Through this, corporates can protect themselves against unforeseen changes in their markets.