JOHANNESBURG, South Africa – 16 April, 2020 – In 2019, responding to the needs of its users, Samsung launched Samsung Members, a platform for customers to be in direct contact with experts from the brand and enjoy exclusive discounts, special promotions, raffles and tutorials, among many other contents. Today, once again thinking about offering the best possible experience, the company incorporates into the Community application, an intuitive space with useful content, designed for Samsung lovers to interact with each other and with the brand.

In Community, experts, fans and other members of this app can create and co-create content about different products to make the most of their functions. In addition, contests will be generated, talking about the diverse and fascinating interests of consumers and, above all, inviting the same community to propose topics of conversation.

Along this path, this new meeting point for Samsung users will have different categories:

With Galaxy
Gaming
Care+
Consumer Electronics
Promotions
Galaxy Gallery
Tips & Tricks

Users will not only be able to find interesting content and tips on these topics, but they will also be able to make inquiries, propose topics that they want to see in these sections in the future and interact with other people who have the same interests.

Regarding this launch, Cambridge Mokanyane, Chief Marketing Officer at Samsung South Africa expressed “This launch is intended to give added value to our consumers. Technology cuts across many aspects of our lives and it is important to know how to fully capitalise on what it can provide us in our day to day lives. The Samsung Members application allows you to enhance the Samsung experience among users and their products. It also allows them to enjoy exclusive discounts, special promotions, competitions, invitations to events and content such as “Tips & Tricks”. Now, they will also have the possibility to learn more about how Samsung’s innovation can make their lives easier, they can raise topics, chat with experts and participate in different events designed for them. It is an interactive space that reflects the spirit of its name: Community.”

Samsung Members is pre-installed on all company smartphones manufactured from 2017 and can be downloaded here

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 13 November 2018 – This year marks a major milestone in the incredible story of Nelson Mandela – his Centenary. Showing commitment to community upliftment, Samsung South Africa partnered with Habitat for Humanity South Africa to honour Mandela’s legacy, by building homes to restore the dignity of deserving beneficiaries, all of which are first time home owners in three regions in South Africa. The latest addition is 10 homes built for the disadvantaged in Lawley, South of Johannesburg.

Samsung’s ongoing vision is to contribute to communities through leading-edge technologies with the development and implementation of various initiatives designed to enrich people’s lives in the areas of education and the environment, as well as accessibility.

“Partnering with Habitat for Humanity is the perfect opportunity for us to help build South Africa. Samsung prides itself on supporting communities through employee volunteer programmes. Additionally, we wanted to use the Mandela Centenary celebrations to give something back that will significantly change the lives of many families,” says as Hlubi Shivanda, Business Operations & Innovation Director, Samsung South Africa.

Habitat for Humanity has the infrastructure that allowed Samsung to get involved in making a real change in the lives of South Africans. Samsung employees enthusiastically joined this inspiring cause and got their hands dirty, laying bricks to building homes and futures for the Lawley community.

One home in particular, is a child headed home. Shivanda explains, “The little boy we are providing housing for was residing in a nearby shack with his grandmother, who sadly passed away recently after waiting for an RDP home for years. We feel extremely fortunate we could step in and assist this young child with substantial housing, a place he can call home.”

The official handover of the new homes took place at a ceremony in Lawley, on Monday 12 November where the deserving home owners were presented with their house keys after the ribbon cutting ceremony, officially opening and welcoming them to their new houses.

Causes such as this have the potential to impact the lives of the new homeowners as well as the community at large. According to Statistics SA, South Africa is one of the world’s most unequal societies with approximately 12 million South Africans living in extremely poor conditions. The current housing backlog is in excess of 2 million units. High rates of urbanisation, population growth, financial constraints and rising development costs have made it impossible to keep pace with the demand for housing. However, the work done by Habitat for Humanity in partnership with corporates such as Samsung, can help alleviate the situation. The relationship has already resulted in the construction of 100 homes this year, with Lawley the latest in a string of inspiring initiatives.

“At Samsung, we believe in supporting community enrichment initiatives such as this, which create decent human settlement for less fortunate communities. Our commitment to opening new possibilities for people everywhere is in line with Habitat for Humanity’s mission to promote dignity and support sustainable transformation and development. We are pleased to partner with Habitat for Humanity in this remarkable endeavour to making a continuous change in the lives of many South Africans,” says Shivanda.

In 2012, the Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) established the Artisan Development Technical Task Team in an effort to improve the quality of artisan training as well as explore the main blockages facing artisan development systems.  According to the HRDC, ‘The lack of apprenticeship opportunities is one of the main obstacles facing artisan learners, which means that while a young person may achieve a suitable qualification at a TVET college, he or she may subsequently discover that they cannot obtain the necessary work experience to enable them to take a trade test. The poor quality of teaching in many of the TVET colleges also results in a high dropout rate among learners. However, a great deal of work is being done to address these challenges.’^[i]

It was noted by, Deputy Secretary General of the ANC, Jessie Duarte, that there was shortfall of 40000 qualified artisans in South Africa.^[ii] Recent statistics indicate that the average age of artisans in South Africa is 55 years, while the number of young people being trained to produce the next generation of artisans was only a fraction of what the country needed.^[iii]

Nithia Pillay, Director Customer Services for Samsung South Africa, says, “There are so many more opportunities for youth with practical skills – South Africa needs more skilled labour. One of the arenas in which skills are highly sought-after is the technology and engineering sector. This is why Samsung has invested in Engineering Academies that not only offer training, but also viable career paths and real jobs.”

Programmes geared towards inclusivity have increased opportunities for women to enter into trades that were traditionally reserved for men and female artisans are on the rise.^[iv] Samsung’s engineering academies offer not only practical training, but also work experience and placement consideration at Samsung and its value-chain partners.

To ensure youth are given hope for the future, it is imperative to change the narrative around what it means to be an artisan and ensure that these much-needed skills are properly taught, and career opportunities are opened up for those who opt to become an artisan. It is only by setting up programmes such as the Samsung Engineering Academies, that South Africa can begin to address unemployment as well as grow the economy.

^{[i] https://www.globalafricanetwork.com/2017/03/02/company-news/the-challenge-of-developing-artisans/}

^{[ii] https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/careers/sa-youth-should-be-considering-these-jobs-15609311}

^{[iii] https://www.iol.co.za/sundayindependent/sa-needs-more-young-artisans-1735482}

^{[iv] https://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Local/Peoples-Post/rise-of-female-artisans-20160822}

“When we empower our female learners we inspire change that impacts families, communities and the country as a whole. Through technology, we can enhance their capacity to learn and spark the imagination of our future leaders and innovators,” says Sung Yoon.

The aim of the handover is two-fold. Firstly, to encourage learners to stay in school by supplying them with sanitary towels Sadly, a lack of access to these necessary hygiene products can impact attendance. Secondly, the 55 tablets and Smart Board are aimed at empowering teachers to improve learning techniques. Samsung has already invested in the school in the past with a solar powered classroom as well as a host of e-learning devices and equipment.

The support is aligned with Samsung’s overall vision for encouraging female learners in Africa. Another successful example of using technology to empower young women is Samsung’s Engineering Academies. Enthusiastic learners armed with a matric certificate, with mathematics and science on higher grade, have been able to take that all-important step into the world of technology. Students, who have come from the same backgrounds as those in Tembisa, are taken through a technical training course followed by a month of in-service training. After gaining the knowledge they need, they are can walk proudly out of the academy, better equipped to reach their greatest goals. Additionally, the students have the opportunity to work for Samsung.

“Samsung is committed to creating learning environments that reflect the world we live in. We believe Africa can lead the world with ground-breaking technologies and visionary thinking. Schools like Phomolong are filled with minds that have the potential to lead the technological revolution,” says Yoon.

Thirty-four employees from Samsung’s global headquarters in South Korea, will be mentoring 19 start-ups in Cape Town for four days as part of the Samsung Employee Volunteer Programme. These volunteers are using their own time to assist these businesses in becoming digitised and helping them to find the right Information and Communications solutions for their needs. This is a part of Samsung South Africa’s ongoing mission to address the critical technical and engineering skills shortage and demonstrate its commitment to the Enterprise and Supplier Development agenda. The initiative is also aligned with government’s Vision 2030, that encourages entrepreneurship and self-employment initiatives.

From 10 to 13 September 2018, small businesses will participate in a boot-camp to better understand the hurdles they face in developing their products and services. They will then showcase their business models to Venture Capital firms and a panel consisting of staff from Samsung South Africa, Samsung South Korea and SEDA. On the last day, Deputy Minister of Small Business Development, Cassel Mathale, will officiate at the prize giving ceremony.

“At Samsung we strive to encourage young minds and nurture the spirit of innovation. With the Global Start-up Acceleration Programme, our experts and engineers from various domains are volunteering to support the sustainable growth of local entrepreneurs in their early stages,” said Hlubi Shivanda, Director: Business Innovation Group and Corporate Affairs.

Since 2010, about 1,500 employees have joined this programme in 43 countries. This year, Samsung is focused on supporting local entrepreneurs and helping them build their businesses for a sustainable impact on society.

This programme is also being presented in Indonesia, Malaysia and India. Among the winners in the four countries, five small businesses will be invited to visit Samsung’s headquarters in South Korea.

The selected participants work in a wide array of areas, such as security for cloud data, Artificial Intelligence-powered solutions, Information Management Systems, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Health-Care Solutions, the use of the Internet of Things (IoT) for healthcare and energy efficient IoT devices.

Samsung employee volunteers bring their global business experience and expertise in the domains of B2B market research, pricing strategies, IoT strategic planning, Artificial Intelligence, cloud, data, strategic investments and planning, databases, machine leaning algorithms, Android programming, health-care businesses, computer vision technology and biomedical engineering to the table, amongst other skills.

“The kind of support a start-up receives in its initial phase can define its success. As a company that strongly believes in co-prosperity as one of our core values, we are proud to partner with SEDA and NGO Nangila to provide infrastructure and mentorship to fledgling businesses. We believe this can be the catalyst that helps the entrepreneurship ecosystem grow,” said Shivanda.

Although the unemployment rate has improved, job creation remains high on the agenda of government and the private sector. Investing in entrepreneurship development is one of the routes that Samsung followed to turn the tide on unemployment.

Justin Hume, Chief Marketing Officer at Samsung says, “At Samsung, we believe we have significant social and economic responsibilities to communities. So being a Global Citizen means we will create positive change for people everywhere, helping them to live better lives.”

It is with this in mind that Samsung established its Khulanathi Supplier Development Programme. This endeavour has seen businesses being established and placed in an incubation process for three years. One of these companies, Rec-Pro Administration Services, a Level 1 BEE business owned solely by women, delivers administration services to Samsung.

The four women – Loshni Naidoo, Claudelle Chetty, Lydia de Villiers and Lindah Nicholson – all worked directly for Samsung before the business was established. They expressed excitement and gratitude when talking about what the future may hold.

“We are equal owners and we have been trained to run our business efficiently and effectively. Once the incubation period is over later this year, we plan to extend the business by creating more jobs in the recruitment and administration field,” said Loshni Naidoo.

Another such business is MMT Logistics. MMT owes its name to the initials of its three directors, Joel Morake, Frans Molaiwa and Habakuk Thipe, who all worked directly for Samsung before being approached to start their own business. This business is responsible for the transport of Samsung’s top executives.

Aside from providing transport to Samsung’s top brass, they have extended their enterprise to include a small fleet of vehicles for public transport. They have also employed an administration person and a driver, bringing their workforce to a total of five.

Says Frans Molaiwa of the opportunity to build a business: “Running your own enterprise is not always easy, but we have learnt a lot and look forward to expanding even further.”

“For Samsung, the benefits of empowering small businesses include delivering on our goal to develop local enterprises, as well as possibly receiving even better service delivery. At Samsung we are proud to be associated with this initiative and the responsibility we, as an organisation, have towards it,” concludes Hume.

^{[i] http://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=10658}

The project accepts males aged between 25 and 33 years on a six-month programme which offers technical upskilling through theoretical and on the job training. Once graduated, they are guaranteed employment at Samsung South Africa or at an affiliate partner and can go on to become responsible contributing members of society.

Director of Services at Samsung South Africa, Richard Chetty says, “Samsung takes its social responsibilities seriously and as such we wanted to ensure that more young men spend their youth in meaningful pursuits, providing for their families and contributing towards the upliftment of their immediate communities. By giving them something to do, we’re effectively taking them off the streets where they could be exposed to various issues that perpetuate social degradation.”

The programme is part of the leading consumer electronics brand’s responsible citizenship campaign to support communities around the world through propelling the growth and sustainability of regional economies. The youth is key to achieving this mandate and by providing them with employment opportunities, vocational training as well as regional infrastructure, Samsung can impact positive behaviour change and instil values for the betterment of society.

“By addressing the social and economic challenges in communities through social crime prevention approaches, young men now have a hope for the future. Samsung South Africa is encouraged that young men with matric now have a positive and viable alternative and will move forward to be highly positive influencers in their communities,” concludes Chetty.