The Mobicel mobile assembly plant is now fully occupied by women only, in an effort to embrace women’s empowerment in the country.
Ridhwan Khan, founder and CEO of Mobicel, told Sunday World that the Midrand-based plant has been a huge shapeshifter for the company. This as they witness women making cellphones from scratch. They are even more than willing to train and assist more women coming in.
Women make up 70% of workforce
The assembly plant team stands at 153 female employees, while the rest of the company employs at least 427 females. This totals above 70% of employees, he said.
The assembly plant has been serving tremendous empowerment since July 2020. This was shortly after the Covid-19 outbreak in the country, which left many people jobless.
Khan said they realised that unemployment was ravaging the country. The huge chunk of these unemployed people were women and youth.
He said this was an opportunity for the company to not only preach and implement the change that needs to be seen in the country. The company also takes in at least 50 interns each year.
Khan said that despite the rising competition in the industry, they had no doubt that the assembly plant would successfully operate in South Africa. They have always lived up to the dream of seeing the country rise against all odds.
Second-leading cellphone brand
He said they now stand as the second-leading cellphone brand. And every time the company achieves something, they always remember that it is women who make the cellphones.
“We make phones that are much more affordable. Most South African homes depend on our brand to deliver the smart cellphone at an affordable cost.
Our world is changing, and it’s changing fast. Young children now need access to these smartphones to complete school projects. And even adults want affordability.
“We make this possible. From our small cellphones with no camera to where we are now. We have come a long way. And trust me, our female employees have carried us all the way,” said Khan.
Women run the assembly point
Khan said it is without regret that they chose women to run the assembly point. He claimed that he could not be convinced that there is anything a woman cannot do.
“We offer them training to upskill themselves and even make them employable, to reach their dream [career] goals.
“Even though we started somewhere, we were told we were not ready, and that the market was saturated. But we still stand at number two,” he said.
