South Africa is a destination of choice for these multinationals

By Fiona Wakelin

Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson’s business model is based on the belief that good health is the foundation of vibrant lives, thriving communities and forward progress. They have been operating on that principle for more than 130 years, aiming to keep people well at every age and every stage of life. As the world’s largest and most broadly based healthcare company, they are committed to using their reach and size for good, striving to improve access and affordability, create healthier communities, and putting a healthy mind, body and environment within reach of everyone, everywhere.

“Every day, our more than 130 000 employees across the world are blending heart, science and ingenuity to profoundly change the trajectory of health for humanity” – Johnson & Johnson.

Johnson & Johnson first opened its doors in South Africa in 1930, and in the more than 90 years since, the company has remained committed to helping address global public health needs that have impacted the country and the region as a whole.

This kind of long-lasting promise to serving communities is at the root of the company’s mission statement—and it’s what drives Alex Gorsky, Johnson & Johnson Executive Chairman:

“We’re proud to be operating today in South Africa, which is a vitally important market and centre of hope and progress unfolding across the continent. It’s why South Africa is the hub for our work across sub-Saharan Africa, as well as home to our Global Public Health Organisation’s Operations Centre, which opened in 2016.

“And we’re positioned well for that future growth, with almost 1 000 South African employees. Johnson & Johnson has always championed the integral role women play in fuelling the future of human health, so I am proud that more than half of our employees in South Africa are female,” – Alex Gorsky

Panasonic

Panasonic” comes from the root words “Pan,” meaning universal, and “Sonic,” referring to sound. It’s a word that refers to the company’s goal of “bringing our sound to customers around the world.” Globally the company employs more than 240 000 people. On July 12, 2018 – Panasonic South Africa (Pty) Ltd, a local subsidiary of Panasonic Corporation, announced it had celebrated the inception of a new business office in Cape Town.

“Today, global environmental problems, including climate change, are the world’s top-priority issues that require urgent solutions. We at Panasonic are determined to unite our Group-wide efforts to squarely address these issues. Furthermore, we will devote ourselves to improving the well-being of individual people in society by helping them to pursue their own happiness, in both physical and mental health, and thus live their lives with peace of mind and comfort. Therefore, we have decided to release our new corporate message that encapsulates these aims.

Live Your Best

“Under this banner, we will always think out the ideal state and conduct our business activities toward this end. At the same time, we will also work to improve our value-creating capabilities, as well as operational capabilities at the business frontlines, on a daily basis so that we will be chosen by our customers going forward. Through these endeavours, Panasonic will offer customers products and services of superior quality that surpass their expectations.” – Yuki Kusumi, CEO of the Panasonic Group

Unilever

Unilever employs over 148 000 people across the world, with over 400 brand names in 190 countries, and is a global company with a global purpose. It was founded in 1883 by William Lever with the launch of Sunlight Soap – “it was pioneering, it was innovative and it had a purpose: to popularise cleanliness and bring it within reach of ordinary people. That was sustainable living, even then. We now have over 400 brands and we are still driven by purpose.”

Every year, hundreds of experts from around the world take part in the GlobeScan SustainAbility Leaders Survey.

Drawn from academia, the corporate sector, governments, media and NGOs, 718 sustainability experts from 73 countries are asked to name the three companies that they feel are showing the greatest commitment to integrating sustainability into their business strategies.

In 2022, for the 11th consecutive year, Unilever achieved the top spot. “And we’re in great company, with fellow leaders Patagonia, IKEA, Natura & Co, Microsoft, Interface, Ørsted, Tesla, Danone and Google making up the top 10.”

William Lever registered the Sunlight trademark in South Africa (SA) – hence on the Unilever website you will find the following:

Unilever South Africa: 90 + years of Doing Good.

Vodafone

Vodacom is majority-owned by Vodafone (60.5% holding), one of the world’s largest communications companies by revenue.

“Through Vodafone’s three purpose pillars: Digital society; Inclusion for all; and Planet, the company aims to positively transform lives, drive a better digital future and reduce our environmental impact. We believe in a connected digital society, that the opportunities and promise of a better digital future should be accessible to all, and that business success should not come at a cost to the environment,” – Vodacom.

Vodacom’s head office is in Johannesburg, and operations include mobile networks in Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Lesotho and Kenya. Mohamed Shameel Aziz Joosub is Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director of Vodacom Group.

The organisation offers a wide range of communication services, including data, mobile and fixed voice, messaging, financial services, Enterprise IT, and converged services to 130 million customers (including Safaricom). Through Vodacom Business Africa (VBA), Vodacom offers business-managed services to large, medium and small enterprises in 48 countries.

Zoom

During the pandemic, “zooming” took on added significance – previously it had primarily been associated with photography or focusing on something – but in 2020, Zoom literally became a household word. 

We spoke to Abe Smith, Head of International, Zoom Video:

With your experience of scaling operations in Asia and Latin America, what is your view on Africa’s readiness for technological innovation?  

“I have been interested in Africa’s technology landscape for over a decade, and this is the final frontier. The opportunity within the region is massive, but you have to be very precise when you develop into the continent. Over time and with consideration you need to figure out how to best build intelligently and intentionally as it is a very technically advanced continent. There is lots of organic interest in the product which has created spirited interest from the company internally to pursue it. Because of this innovative drive, we hope businesses within the region take advantage of our Zoom App fund as we’d love to invest in companies in the region whose mission is to make communications more engaging, productive and effective,” – Abe Smith

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