M.D Hewlett Packard (HP), Ifenyinwa Afe, says Waste management’s is everybody’s business

First of all what is E-waste? :
E-waste" is a popular, informal name for electronic products nearing the end of their "useful life. "E-wastes are considered dangerous, as certain components of some electronic products contain materials that are hazardous, depending on their condition and density. The hazardous content of these materials pose a threat to human health and environment. Discarded computers, televisions, VCRs, stereos, copiers, fax machines, electric lamps, cell phones, audio equipment and batteries if improperly disposed can leach lead and other substances into soil and groundwater. Many of these products can be reused, refurbished, or recycled in an environmentally sound manner so that they are less harmful to the ecosystem.

The M.D of Hewlett Packard (HP) Incorporated in Nigeria, Mrs. Ifenyinwa Afe, has disclosed that only a multi-stakeholder participation will provide long solution for electronic waste management in Nigeria. According to her this solution, will create huge employment opportunity while accelerating and building national capacity.

Afe in a talk with Daily Sun in Lagos, while explaining the evolution from the old to new HP companies, revealed that HP was not the only company affected by job losses, but the entire Information and Technology (IT) industry fell victim. How we came out of it is important and how we resuscitate ourselves as a company and what our promise to the stakeholders workforce and partners is what is critical today,” she said.

She speaks on this and other issues during the chat with Daily sun. See discussions from the chat below:

* What is the role of stakeholders on e-Waste?.

This is because it can only be through a multi-stakeholder participation (Producers, collectors, recyclers, academia, international organisations, civil society and government) can a truly sustainable solution to the problem of e-waste management be found. So It is important that all stakeholders are permitted to contribute towards the development of e-waste regulations and the industry as a whole. and the solution should be one that creates jobs, that retains material resources within a country and builds national capacity for proper treatment of e-waste.

The rapid economic growth of emerging markets has led to a rise in the generation of electronic waste (e-waste) over the last decade. For instance, the European Environment Agency and United Nations Environment programme estimate that 40- 50 million tons of electrical waste are produced each year worldwide.

In Africa alone, the use of IT has aggressively risen in recent years, up to 20 per cent year on year, according to IDC, adding to an e-waste stream that includes a wide range of electronic goods such as TVs and refrigerators. The category is increasing three times faster than all other types of domestic waste. Today, only five per cent of e-waste in Africa is currently recycled through a formal recycling process while 95 per cent is conducted through informal recycling. But as part of its commitment to Extended Producer Responsibility, in 2007, HP began developing a programmatic strategy and multi-stakeholder action plan to address the e-waste problem in Africa.

*   Any Alliance with OEM's

We have formed an alliance with other OEM’s like Dell, Philips and Microsoft Mobile to tackle this issue, and we have been at the limelight in driving this by offering technical support to potential partners and working with NESREA to provide the necessary legislative framework to make industries thrive and create sustainable jobs. HP has already gone further to also identify a partner which will become Nigeria’s first ever licensed e-waste recycler. This broad commitment to reducing the impact of e-waste includes helping to facilitate the right technical, educational and organisational structures to manage e-waste safely and efficiently.

* Impact of Treasury Single Account (TSA) on HP

This means that payment for government products and services will be rationalized and controlled from a single stand point. As an organisation, we believe it is very good for the government and will help in proper monitoring and accounting for government expenditure. One school of thought is that this process will at the initial stage slow projects and business down as organisation will need to accept the reality of change. But it’s obvious that public organisations won’t be able to make expenses and award business as was the case in the past. Not withstanding but after a “while” there is hope that business will be distribute as every government establishment will have to align with the new policy. However, OEMs might witness a drop in business initially but things would pick up in the long run
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* Loss of jobs in IT industry

HP was not the only company that this affected, but the entire Information and Technology (IT) industry was affected too. But how we came out of it is important and how we reinvented ourselves as a company and  our promise to the company, workforce and partners matters well as how we kept that promise as opposed to running to end of the road. We are not saying that because the situation is this bad, we let go, rather we have actually picked ourselves up and as a new company forged ahead to keep this promise and our employees are all well catered for and very much with the company. They suffered no form of reduction whether in workforce or benefit. We have been stronger than ever, and I think that the market share of IDC publication says much about that. Today, we command over 60 per cent of the market and we only got this far because of our partners.


*  Other Partners

We have well over 500 partners across the country. It is not an annual thing but with the launch of a new company we decided to make it public and make people understand that HP Incorporated has lots to offer in terms of products, services and solutions as a company and we are here to stay.

* The Difference between old and new HP.

The difference is in the product focus because HP incorporated focuses more on computing, printing and the solution, while our affiliate partner will focus on enterprise and are responsible for networking, software and enterprise solution.

* Plan on CSR.

We have engaged with lots of agencies in this regard and helped us to reach out to organisations including schools. We always ensure that at every quarter, we take our time, funding and products to sponsor. We have done a lot of events and sponsorship's. We have donated in so many schools and are involved in so many forms of empowerment for people.

* The Impact of both companies.

I think that it’s a lot easier for people to relate to the HP incorporated. The right products have been made available at the right price, so people are able to find a home in any of our products as against when we were a bit not reachable. You know people say a lot of things about large companies, that they are always unreachable but now, we are more flexible. We have only one main focus, which is to drive our computing business.

The new HP sounds so good. Our future is much clearer to us now, what we like to do is to make sure that we provide an eco- system with a wide range of products for people to be able to relate, adapt and invent products that will change lives. We want to reduce cost and improve value. And that’s why we are out for.

*  The Cost Reduction.

The average amount you spent on your printer when you have to replace the accessories like toners has now reduced as we have released new advantage models that allow you to print two times more at the same cost. These are types of solution that helps our customers reduce cost, which is beneficial to both parties at the end of the day.

* Any Competition and partnership with OEMs.

The Nigeria market is huge, with very little being addressed presently. Hp Inc. has in its employ 100 per cent specialized Nigerian staff, whose commitment to the economy is to ensure that business ethics are maintained in all our operations, and where the opportunity exists to partner with local OEMs, be it in software development and other sectors.

There is no other I.T company that extends further than Hp in terms of its adoption of local business people in the channel programme. We are proudly working with over 2000 Nigeria companies as partners, retailers and distributors, as our means of operation in Nigeria. By so doing, Hp had over the years, empowered hundreds and hundreds of indigenous companies to take the next step further into IT.

*Grey markets.

Grey market is not as rampant as what it used to be. I will tell you something, we run anti counterfeits campaign regularly to ensure that grey and substandard products are mopped out of every ecosystem. We just concluded one recently.

* What should be expected from HP five years from now.

Innovating, re-inventing hence providing solutions that make the difference, not just for the business of it but for the technological growth of the nation.

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