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By Mandy Murugan
An Absa leadership programme visit to Shenzhen challenged long-held assumptions about technology, talent and transformation, offering powerful lessons for how Africa can build its own innovation ecosystems, writes Mandy Murugan.
My journey to China began with the privilege of being nominated for Absa’s Accelerated Development Initiative (ADI), a leadership programme designed to challenge assumptions, expand perspectives and expose leaders to new ways of thinking. For me, it was more than a development programme. It was an invitation to step beyond familiar boundaries and reimagine what is possible. Shenzhen did exactly that.
Before arriving at Huawei’s headquarters, I carried many of the assumptions people often hold about developing nations. I expected progress, but not at the scale I encountered. Instead, I found myself inside one of the world’s most advanced technology ecosystems, a company shaping not only its own future but also helping transform an entire nation.
Within moments, my mental models began to crumble. Everything I thought I understood about innovation, scale, leadership, and long-term vision was challenged. Huawei was not simply building products. It was building an environment designed to inspire excellence, encourage innovation, and prepare for a future many countries are still trying to imagine.
A Campus of Twelve Towns
One of the most extraordinary aspects of the Huawei campus is its design. It is divided into twelve separate “towns,” each inspired by a different European city, including Paris, Verona, Granada and Bruges. Each town accommodates around 2,000 employees.
Walking through the campus felt like travelling across continents without ever leaving the organisation. Every building reflected intention and creativity. This was far more than an office complex. It was a living expression of ambition.
The architecture reflects the founder’s belief that environment shapes mindset. Employees are reminded daily that they are part of something larger than themselves, a global organisation with a bold vision for the future. Their work is not only shaping China but influencing the world.
Connecting the twelve towns is Huawei’s distinctive bright red train. On the surface, it is a practical transport solution. Yet it is also a powerful symbol of connection, efficiency and movement, linking people, ideas and opportunities seamlessly across a vast ecosystem.
As I rode the train, I reflected on leadership itself. Great leadership is not only about setting a vision. It is about building systems that help people move towards that vision together, removing barriers, connecting talent and creating conditions for innovation to thrive.
A City Within a Company
The scale of the campus was overwhelming. Restaurants, cafés, sports facilities, employee accommodation, conference centres and villas for visiting clients create an environment that feels more like a city than a corporate headquarters. Employees have access to facilities that support both work and wellbeing.
The canteens offer cuisine from around the world, reflecting Huawei’s global workforce. Housing at below-market rates reinforces the philosophy that investing in people extends beyond their careers and into the quality of their lives.
Every aspect of the environment communicates a simple message: people matter.
One observation challenged my thinking about productivity. After lunch, many offices dim the lights to give employees time to rest. Afternoon naps are common in China and form part of the working culture.
At first glance, this may seem unusual in a high-performance environment. Yet it reinforced an important lesson: sustainable excellence requires balance. Productivity is not achieved by pushing people harder, but by creating conditions that enable them to perform at their best, consistently.
Leadership must understand and respect human rhythms, not simply focus on outputs.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of Huawei’s culture was its commitment to family. During family days, the campus transforms into a vibrant community space. Employees’ families are invited to experience the workplace through performances, activities and entertainment. Children can see where their parents work, and families become part of the organisation’s story.
This challenged another assumption of mine: that work and family must compete for attention. Huawei showed that they can complement one another. When people feel supported not only as employees but also as parents and individuals, their connection to the organisation deepens significantly.
An Employee Value Proposition That Lives Its Values
Huawei’s employee value proposition is not a slogan. It shows up in everyday experiences: housing support, world-class facilities, family programmes, learning opportunities and cultural events. The organisation sends a consistent message that this is not merely a place to work, but a place to belong.
Huawei invests in technology, but it invests just as intentionally in its people. This balance between innovation and humanity underpins its success.
No visit to Huawei would be complete without experiencing its technological capabilities. Artificial intelligence, advanced robotics, smart connectivity solutions and other technologies that many organisations still view as future possibilities were already operational.
What stood out was not simply the technology itself, but how quickly it was being implemented. While much of the world debates the future of technology, Huawei is actively building it. The future is not something they are waiting for. It is something they are creating.
My experience in Shenzhen left me with several lessons:
- Architecture shapes culture. Environment influences how people think and innovate.
- Systems enable leadership. Great leaders build connections that let people and ideas move efficiently.
- Innovation begins with people. Technology succeeds when people feel valued and inspired.
- Rest fuels performance. Sustainable excellence requires balance.
- Integration creates strength. The most effective organisations bring together work, life, culture and purpose.
What Can Africa Learn?
The most important lesson Africa can take from Huawei is that transformation begins with mindset, not technology. Huawei became transformative because it fostered a culture that believed it could compete with the best in the world. Africa has the talent, creativity and resilience to do the same.
We must move beyond being consumers of innovation and become creators, builders and exporters of solutions. That shift begins with education and long-term investment in human potential. Huawei shows what becomes possible when a nation commits itself over decades to developing engineers, scientists, technologists and leaders.
Imagine if Africa adopted the same mindset: cities designed around innovation districts, businesses investing aggressively in R&D, and schools preparing children not only to participate in the economy but to shape it.
The question is not whether the continent can replicate Huawei’s success. The question is whether we are willing to think with the same boldness and ambition.
I travelled to China expecting to witness development. Instead, I witnessed transformation. Huawei’s campus is a living ecosystem where architecture, technology, culture, people and purpose come together in pursuit of a shared vision.
I arrived with one set of mental models and left with another.
Leadership is not about catching up with the future. It is about having the courage and imagination to create it. Shenzhen showed me what becomes possible when a nation believes in its own potential and invests relentlessly in realising it.
Mandy Murugan is the Head, People Function at Absa.
