NEGOTIATIONS are underway between the government of Lesotho and Samsung Africa as the company seeks to soon establish a footprint in the country.

Director Operations at Samsung Africa, Hlubi Shivanda said in an interview with Public Eye on Wednesday that they will be looking for more investments in Lesotho.  

“We have been in conversation with the government and yes there are plans to establish a footprint in Lesotho and we are looking at what opportunities exist so that we could build a partnership with the government and other civil society partners,” Shivanda said shortly after Samsung penned an initial three-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Lerotholi Polytechnic on Wednesday.

The partnership, Samsung Innovation Campus, aims to provide an opportunity to deserving, previously disadvantaged youth to gain skills in Coding and Programming, Artificial Intelligence and the Internet of things.

The programme is designed to have educational themes that combine future core technology capabilities with soft skills and job preparation.   

President of Samsung Africa, Bumsuk Hong said during the same event that the company is heavily invested in the development of people and communities, adding that can only be achieved through working together with others.

He said the aim is to play a role through initiatives and partnerships such as the current one to empower future generations in order to achieve their full potential through education.

“The Samsung Innovation Campus initiative was started earlier this year and we are pleased to have made progress by getting into partnerships such as this one in such a short period of time.

“We are driven by bringing about positive social change and building a better world for all, not just through our products and services, but also by creating opportunities for learning and growth,” Hong added.

The understanding is that this partnership will help to unleash the infinite potential of the youth at Lerotholi Polytechnic by harnessing resources and expertise.  

“We know that your institution is committed to excellence, which is further inspiration for us, especially as we seek to empower the youth to make a contribution to the 4th Industrial Revolution. Our long-term vision for Samsung Innovation Campus at the Lerotholi Polytechnic and collaboration with Lesotho government will make it possible for future opportunities for growth and further investment,” Hong said.

For his part, the Rector of Lerotholi Polytechnic, Professor Spirit Tlali said the partnership with Samsung is a welcome development in changing the higher education landscape, adding that his institution needs to adjust and become adaptable to these changes in order to stay relevant and competitive.

The best part of this act, he said, is it targets the youth or students who are significant game changers and whose impact will be almost immediate as they are versatile, more open to change, curious and eager to learn new things.

The objective of this programme is clear and there is a direct synergy with the national strategic objective of improvement of the technological infrastructure.