Poor quality haunts Malawi’s producers
Poor quality and inconsistency in supply have been cited among major challenges affecting competitiveness of local produce on the international market.
Malawi’s ambassador for the United States (US) African Women Entrepreneurship Programme (Awep), Grace Mijiga Mhango, said women entrepreneurs are not spared.
The Awep initiative is aimed at increasing integration of African businesswomen into the global economy through training, increased trade relations and business activity with US businesses and the US Government.
The programme falls under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).
In an interview, Mhango said Malawian women businesses operators need to intensify their efforts.
“There is little or nothing to show as regards benefits from the AWEP programme despite our affiliation, this is the reason we are calling for women to come together work in groups and attend trainings under the programme to understand the export market demands.
“The US market is a huge market so small volumes of products do not make business sense,” Mhango said.
She further said the programme will be celebrating 10 years of existence later this year in Kenya and Malawian female entrepreneurs are invited to participate.
Malawi’s contribution to the Agoa has in recent years remained static at 0.15 percent of global share in the trade act, which has 164 members.
The country’s contribution was worth $29 192 (about K21 million) both in 2017 and 2018.
