SGS : The World’s Leading Inspection, Verification, Testing and Certification Company

Interview with Kwabena Barning, Regional MD – Francophone West Africa at SGS

What is your assessment of the sector in Côte d’Ivoire? What are the trends?

We are an affiliate of SGS Global S.A. SGS is the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing, and certification company, with more than 95,000 employees. SGS operates a network of over 2,400 offices and laboratories around the world. We have been in business for over 140 years. We have an excellent geographical footprint. We also operate in 11 distinct global industries. We offer a global service using local expertise. There are a number of benefits associated with the services that we offer: quality, safety, reduced risks, speed to market, trust, and sustainability. In everything we do, we are trying to bring those benefits to the client and the communities where we operate. We have been in Côte d’Ivoire since the 1950s and are proud to have maintained uninterrupted service. This demonstrates the importance that we attach to Côte d’Ivoire. We currently have three distinct business entities, with a staff complement of about 800 employees. We operate across 50 different sites in Côte d’Ivoire. Currently, we operate in the agri and food sector, which is a unique sector for us. We also operate in the chemicals sector, construction, mining, oil and gas, the public sector, and transportation. Côte d’Ivoire is an economy that has a great deal of potential, which is why we have made a commitment to continue to invest in key industries, geographies, as well as in our people, so that they will help us with the same growth trajectory that we have managed for ourselves over the years.

What specific services do you provide? What is your competitive advantage over other companies?

Our value system is based on passion, integrity, entrepreneurism, and the spirit of innovation.

We are a service organization. We do not manufacture, we only render services to key sectors. Whatever service we offer, for example, testing the quality of water, we bring in added value to the client. If it is trade, we assure the trading community, be it a buyer or a seller, and we independently ascertain the quality of the goods and services that are being traded. In short, we ascertain and facilitate trade amongst trading partners, whether it is us and the government or B2B. We ensure that whatever service we offer has a net benefit, which is the quality, safety, reduced risk, efficiency, trust, and sustainability. Our unique selling proposition is that we think global and act local.

How do you distinguish yourself from the competition?

There is a reason why we are number one in the world. Obviously, our geographical footprint is one point. Additionally, our value system is based on passion, integrity, entrepreneurism, and the spirit of innovation. Our SGS business principles are the cornerstone on which all of our activity rests integrity, health and safety, quality and professionalism, respect, sustainability and leadership.

It is one thing to have a set of values, and another thing to practicalize them. Using myself as a classic example, I have been with this company 25 years. Throughout the company, most of our people, especially those in leadership positions, have been with us for many years. And there is a reason for that. The reason being the passion that we bring and the freedom that the company gives us to be able to operate and to be able to innovate and practicalize our ideas. That is what keeps us ahead of the competition.

What are some of your key projects and success stories?

For example, the mineral and mining sector is fairly new to Côte d’Ivoire, unlike places such as Ghana or South Africa where they have had 100 years of mining experience. We came into this space and within a short period of time, we dominated the market in terms of our service offering. You could say that it is because we have had a long-standing experience in providing service, but this is a totally different market. We came with all the same attributes, ideas, personnel, talents, and technical expertise that were able to be used to capture a larger share of the market.

What is your strategy for development in the region?

This region, compared to other regions in West Africa, has a huge growth potential. Looking around, you can see the kind of development projects that are taking place. We have made a commitment to continue to invest in the region, not only Côte d’Ivoire, in key industries and key geographies and to continue to bring our experience and expertise in order to be part of the success story that we have seen across the sub region.

What are some examples of where you want to expand apart from Côte d’Ivoire? Are there other countries where as a regional manager you want to go further and push into?

We would like to pursue West Africa, especially the French speaking West Africa, from Senegal all the way to Togo and Benin and then also up north to Niger and Mali. Each of those countries holds good potential for us, of course some more than others. Clearly, for us, Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire is a focus area, while Mali and Burkina Faso are quite ahead in terms of mining.

What are the major challenges that the sector faces?

Each sector has its own inherent challenges. We have not had any first-hand experience with these challenges. All we know is that each distinct sector is growing and that this growth needs players like ourselves to come in and support that growth because it is an integrated sort of approach. You cannot grow the transportation sector without service companies like ourselves. Also, the transportation sector in Côte d’Ivoire is growing, along with the construction sector. People want to ensure that the roads that are being constructed are constructed to the specification that is demanded and required. So, we come in to play a role in all of that and we will continue to play a role going forward.

You have signed a contract with the Côte d’Ivoire government regarding the conformity of the goods that are coming to Côte d’Ivoire, making sure that this country will get certified and that the population is prepared and safeguarded against bad products.

We will begin in April of this year, and we are busy assembling our mobilization plans. We are almost ready. This is also one of the key sectors. This is a public sector and we are here to accompany the government in these targeted areas where they want to see growth and improvement. We were among the companies that were chosen to provide our service. This is all in an effort to ensure that the quality of products that are coming in meet the standards, be it international or national standards, that Côte d’Ivoire has set for itself.

What are your CSR policies?

SGS has been recognized as a sustainability leader through awards recognition from the Dow Jones Sustainability Europe index, RobecoSam, EcoVadis and FTSE4 Good.

Sustainability has now become quite a critical thing for most companies. We have embedded a sustainability cause in all our business decisions and in all the services that we provide. I cite the example of testing the quality of water. If you are testing the quality of water to ensure that it does not have heavy metals, for example, in effect, we are doing something to benefit the larger community. We have also set for ourselves certain policies like reducing carbon dioxide emissions and being energy efficient. We have a goal to go paperless for a specific sector of our business by 2020. We also focus on the respect of the rule of law and good governance. These are all things that we put together to ensure that we operate in a manner that is acceptable to the state as well as SGS.

In the medium term, two to three years’ time, how do you see the company if everything goes according to your plan and development? What will SGS be here in the region?

The challenge for us, the goal even, is to remain a clear market leader in what we do. As I mentioned earlier, there is a great deal of growth potential. It is immense. We want to be part of that growth as it takes off. Three years from now, we aim to remain a market leader, grow our business beyond expectations, and we aim to deliver on the expectations of our shareholders and stakeholders.

Do you have a message to send regarding Côte d’Ivoire and the region to businesses that want to come here?

Côte d’Ivoire is a very welcoming country. The government is very supportive of the private sector. The region holds quite a lot of growth potential. It is among the fastest growing economies on the continent. Clearly, it is a preferred investment destination and we will continue to invest in key sectors and in our people.