Made in Namibia goes live
Hon. Tjekero Tweya, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry at the launch of the Made in Namibia Expo which will be held from 29 to 31 July 2014, at the Safari Hotel and Conference Centre. (Photograph by Mandisa Rasmeni)
Tweya said that the objective of the Expo is to contribute to the development and growth of the local manufacturing sector by providing a platform for Namibian companies, especially manufacturers, to showcase the goods and services that they are producing. “Although the main focus of the Expo is to showcase locally produced products, the Expo will include highly informative, interactive, presentations from organisations, ministries and agencies where policy makers, business practitioners and academic intellectuals will approach entrepreneurship issues from different complementary angles,” he said, adding that in this regard, the Ministry of Trade and Industry has reserved 29 July 2014 for this purposes and that the Expo will only be open to the public on 30 and 31 July. Tweya expressed his hope that the Expo will serve the important role of exposing locally manufactured goods to local consumers, enhancing awareness and resulting in real demand for these products. Sketching the background against which local manufacturers operate, he said the Expo is also a platform for networking between the manufacturers and the suppliers of business services as well as the suppliers of production technologies. He sees this interaction as mutually beneficial. The ministry is expecting over 230 exhibitors to showcase their products in various sectors and more than 4000 visitors are expected to attend the Expo. This event also aims to identify the existing levels of manufacturing in the country and to identify gaps in quality and processing capabilities to see where policy interventions are required to boost existing local production and supply capacity. Another aim is to facilitate data collection on existing Namibian manufacturers and producers.
