Mozambique | Japan supports competitiveness of over 200 products

More than 200 Mozambican products are being made more competitive for national and international markets as part of a program supported by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), according to Mozambican daily newspaper Notícias.
The director-general of the Institute for Promotion of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (Ipeme) in Mozambique, Claire Zimba, told the newspaper that after selecting the products and companies for this program in 2013, work is currently focusing on training producers, particularly in terms of quality, product presentation, business registration and management and development plans.
Speaking to the newspaper at this year’s Maputo International Fair, which ended Sunday, the director-general of Ipeme said the idea was to have at least 200 products of an acceptable quality by 2017 to supply the domestic market and for export.
Zimba said that in terms of promoting the quality of products pilot projects were underway with chilli peppers, copra oil and forest fruits.
“We are working on quality, image, packaging and management so that these goods can be accepted on the domestic market and abroad with a view to creating opportunities and strengthening the competitiveness of our small and medium-sized companies,” said the director-general of Ipeme.
The program initially planned to cover 100 products, but after the work carried out in 2013 the number of products more than doubled.  MDT/Macauhub