How we help our clients navigate natural disasters, political instability, and national emergencies in Africa
- Last updated: September 3, 2024
Cyclones, draughts, floods, epidemics, power cuts, fuel outages, political unrest – all these setbacks and more are part of the experience of doing business in Africa.
Unfortunately, these emergencies cannot be treated as problems that will be thought of when the time comes. Because crises like those pose operational, strategic, financial as well as regulatory risks – and you can never know how long they will last, and how long your business will remain stranded as a result.
These issues will happen, and you will have to deal with them.
Here at Africa HR Solutions, we have had extensive experience with these kinds of disruptions and have faced all manners of trouble related to them for over a decade now. Here is how we have weathered all these uncertainties for our clients over the years:
Political unrest in Niger (2023)
In late July, a coup happened in Niger, with the President and his family being detained by an army General. Since then, the situation has unraveled, prompting intervention from the French government, and causing the USA to eventually suspend most of its assistance to the Nigerien government.
Before any resolution could be found in this conflict, bank accounts in Niger were frozen. This effectively halted business transactions and left companies at a loss as to what to do to safeguard their interests and protect their employees.
So, in a situation such as this one, how can Africa HR Solutions intervene? We cannot “unfreeze” bank accounts, nor can we argue for conflict resolution.
What we did do, however, was to always be alert, informed, and present on the ground.
We are always aware of the latest news in the countries we serve because we constantly monitor recent developments, whether it is about a natural catastrophe or political changes.
As such, we noticed that unrest was boiling in Niger – and might soon spill over.
In those cases, it is experience and knowledge of the country that allow us to distinguish an actual threat, a “maybe” from anything else. In any case, we advise caution and prevention to our clients.
So we did not wait for tragedy to strike before acting. Rather, we were prepared and experienced. So we advised our clients well before they could ask themselves: “What should we do?”.
We made suggestions to our clients in Niger and helped them determine:
- How they could proceed with their payroll
- Which laws and regulations apply to them in emergency situations
- How they could support their employees during this time
The result? Uninterrupted service to our clients and their employees and making good on our promise to support them come what may.
In this way, our clients were able to sidestep the issue of frozen bank accounts entirely, and they remained 100% compliant all throughout.
Morocco earthquake (2023)
Some events can be anticipated, but what can we do during unpredictable tragedies?
On the 9th of September 2023, an earthquake of magnitude 6.8 struck Marrakesh, causing over 2,900 deaths in the region and leaving thousands more injured.
In the ensuing panic, it is hard for employees and employers alike to think clearly. This time, evidently, we were not aware that a natural disaster would happen. All the same, our teams are always prepared to face emergency situations. This means that when the earthquake happened, we were able to rapidly ensure that employees who had medical insurance coverage, for instance, were able to access the necessary resources.
We were also in constant contact with all our clients and gave them suggestions as to what they could do to maintain activities, and to support their employees. Meanwhile, we handled all their HR functions as per the Africa HR Solutions’ promise.
Following our lead, one client offered an extra allowance to their employees, a move which we swiftly enabled through our payroll service.
Loadshedding in South Africa (ongoing)
Businesses that are beginning their expansion to South Africa may not always be aware of its loadshedding issues – a practice of planned blackouts during which the population remains without electricity for six to twelve hours every day.
Now a day-to-day occurrence as opposed to an emergency, EOR and PEO providers like Africa HR Solutions must still be adequately prepared to deal with loadshedding and its repercussions on clients. This includes ensuring that payroll is processed on time, regardless of loadshedding issues, ensuring that employees are properly onboarded… everything to make sure that business can go on as usual, in spite of the circumstances.
COVID-19 pandemic (2019-2022)
During the pandemic, Africa HR Solutions played a key role in enabling payroll payments and facilitating access to medical insurance to those who were covered by it.
We also assisted our clients as they navigated the rocky terrain of new COVID-19 regulations that were popping up all across the 50+ African countries we serve. Our dedication to 100% compliance made it so that we were able to guide our clients through these difficult legal obligations in an already unprecedented time.
Rely on Africa HR Solutions
It is in times of trouble that you know who you can truly count on. Africa HR Solutions has proved, through and through, that we keep our promises of being there for our clients no matter what the situation. Allow yourself the peace of mind you need for your business to grow in Africa: let your business confidently rely on our trusted PEO, EOR, and payroll services.
