Upscaling Manufacturing SMEs in the Natural Products Clusters in Kenya and Uganda

Project Description

Invest in Africa in partnership with the Business Scouts for Development Programme (BSFD) have launched a market linkage program for manufacturing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in natural food clusters.BSFD is a program commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

Under this initiative, we will leverage IIA’s flagship business membership platform Biashara.Now to enable market linkage by allowing the SMEs to use the digital traceability tools on the platform to make sure buyers can trace and understand their products, which will enhance efficient engagement and transaction.

Other capabilities which will be delivered under the capacity-building component include good manufacturing practices and new product development. This will ensure that the SMEs can meet the required market standards and efficiently undertake the demand-driven introduction of new products. Importantly, the initiative is in line with IIA’s goal of linking SMEs with $100M worth of contracts and creating up to one million jobs by 2025. It has come in handy to ensure collaborative efforts in supporting SMEs to competitively access industries and adequately contribute to value chain development. This, in turn, translates to job opportunities generated through the resultant enterprise growth.

Activities

Good Manufacturing Practice
Transparency and Traceability using digital tools
Access to Markets
Access to Finance
New Product Development.

Expected outcomes.

The program will drive capacity building to upscale SMEs and enhance competitive access to market opportunities.Currently, the East Africa Community (EAC) market is gaining increasing importance for value-add agricultural products made in Eastern Africa. In addition, there is also an increasing openness in the community to buying “products made in EAC. This initiative , therefore, targets manufacturing SMEs in Kenya and Uganda in natural food clusters focusing on Avocado, Shea Butter, Coconut, and Moringa.