Hello GE Reports. I’m Roger Lambson, Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment leader at GE Transportation in South Africa, and I would like to tell you about some recent news from the region and how we continue to take steps forward to embrace South Africa.
South Africa is an extremely important market for GE and GE Transportation. In fact, GE has been here since 1898 – and GE Transportation supplied its first diesel electric locomotives to South Africa 50 years ago. GE Transportation has also been a key supplier to the African rail market for decades, with over 1,000 locomotives running across the continent.
Earlier this month, our CEO Lorenzo Simonelli visited South Africa and spent an evening with young Africans at the African Leadership Academy (ALA), an institution aimed at transforming Africa by developing and supporting future generations of African leaders. The Africa GE Women’s Network also organized an essay competition on the ”Growth of rail and its importance in developing Africa,” for which Lorenzo presented an award for the best piece.
The incredible spirit of these young Africans impressed me in a big way. The ALA leadership believes that the young people of Africa are best equipped to bring about innovation, much like they have done in the developed world (think of Bill Gates when he founded Microsoft at 19 and Richard Branson when he started Virgin at 16). Most of the students are already innovators in one way or another. One of them (William Kamkwamba) was profiled on the front page of the Wall Street Journal last December for the work he has done in wind energy.
The day after the ALA presentation, we took a huge step forward with our localisation initiatives in the region by establishing a new subsidiary in South Africa called GE South Africa Technologies (Pty) Limited, a JV partnership with the Mineworkers Investment Company (MIC), one of South Africa’s foremost Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment companies. The signing ceremony was particularly moving as it cemented our relationship with MIC while reinforcing our commitment to South Africa.
I am looking forward to sharing more exciting information with you as we strengthen our footprint in Africa. Thank you
