Feature: Nigerian-Chinese couple invests in industrial park boosting skill transfer in Africa

"Everything we shared half half, he owns 50 percent and I own 50 percent for the WIHU International limited and partner together," Huang Yuzhen said in her industrial park in Ogun State, southwest Nigeria, and the "he" is her Nigerian husband Peter Williams.

Located on expanse of land measuring 40,000 square meters, the park was incorporated in 2006, as an indigenous manufacturing and civil engineering organization with technical affiliation to Nigerian and Chinese partners.

Huang, a lady in her 40s from eastern part of China, is the deputy managing director, while Williams, a Nigerian born in Germany, is WIHU's chief executive officer and managing director.

Currently, the deputy managing director handles the international business, specifically for the importation of semi- processed inputs for the company while all finished products are manufactured at WIHU. Williams deals with "local" affairs relating to immigration, trade authorities, police, etc.

The couple woo investors by helping them make things "easier."

Wen Weidong, the chief executive officer of Dynasty furniture Nigeria Limited, one of the Chinese firm operating in the park, said the park has contributed tremendously in reducing the cost of doing business in Nigeria.

He said WIHU park has made business easier as issues related to operational cost, immigration, police and electricity has been commonly managed.

The industrial park is presently accommodating 16 Chinese companies doing business in manufacturing rubber slippers, haulage transport, warehousing, furniture, tiles, gas cylinder and construction company.

For Huang, The industrial park is a new exploration in the practical cooperation between Nigeria and China, through culture and romance.

Huang came to Nigeria in 2002 and she was in her 20s. She start her business as a shoes trader, importing shoes from China and selling locally. During this period the young lady met Williams and their romance started.

"From 2004 and 2005, government starts to band shoes importation, and it became contraband goods, I can't import anymore, and I don't want to do any illegal business," Huang said.

After careful thinking and market study, the couple decided to set up a slippers factory in Nigeria because there lied the great business opportunity.

"I saw rubber slipper everywhere where people use and dump, making the environment looks dirty, so I said let's recycle it and make a good one for people to enjoy and lower price rate, and this is how we started shoe business here," Huang said.

The past 10 years have witnessed the perfect cooperation between the couple who have now expanded their business from slippers production to rain boot production, transportation business and diesel trading.

"We get married in 2008 and we were able grow up together like this, because my husband is very smart and hardworking person and me too very hard working. He knows alot of Nigerians and I know Chinese, we work together to make the business work," Huang said.

The couple bought a 4-hectare land and set up their factory, and build more factory buildings for renting. There they started the industrial park.

For Huang, the current biggest impediment to the park is having difficulty to cope with some government policies, such as the tax system and lack of incentives for huge investments.

The park, like all others running business in the country, gets around the squalid power supply situation by depending most times of generators.

Nigeria has been hard hit by power shortage due to limited generation capacity. The country of over 170 million population can only produce 4000 MW annually, and about 50 percent of the population can not access to electricity.

A recent World Bank report said unreliable power supply and inefficiencies in custom clearance are among major challenges impeding growth of Africa's industrial clusters.

However, despite the challenges, Huang sees great potential in Nigerian market, and she told Xinhua that the company was already building another industrial park in Sagamu area of Ogun state to "help alleviate youth unemployment there." Endi