Ethiopia – multiple sectors training continues
On the 11th of June Chamber Trade Sweden, in cooperation with Sweden-Ethiopia Chamber of Commerce welcomed a delegation representing the Ethiopian textile and leather industries. The delegation was a result of the business-focused training which was held in Addis during the spring.
The industrial development workshop in Addis in May gathered more than 100 companies and representatives from people from sectorial associations. Many representing the large export sectors of Ethiopia such as horticulture and textile and leather. CTS partner AACCSA, Addis Ababa Chamber of Commerce and Sectoral Associations, explained that this was a unique event for their members and that the mix of policy issues, market access and overall issues to do with the development of the Ethiopian industry is very important to their members – both companies and sectoral associations.
Companies within horticulture, industrial components and textile and leather took part in breakout sessions going in-depth on issues regarding market access and requirements and how these can be met.
The Swedish experts within horticulture visited with several farms and took samples. The Ethiopian flowers are interesting for the Swedish and in reality for the whole Scandinavian market. Today almost all trade is done through the Netherlands but there is interest and possibility to trade directly between Sweden and Ethiopia. Mr. Ronny Gustavsson, one of the experts and a longtime and successful entrepreneur within the Swedish horticultural industry, reflected on the visit by saying:
– The quality and the produce is in place – now we only need to work out the logistics
Also within the textile and leather industry Chamber Trade Sweden are working with AACCSA to seize the opportunities for enhanced trade between Ethiopian and Swedish companies. The companies that took part in the breakout session represented large manufacturers within textile and leather as well as smaller companies coming from the various women entrepreneurial associations in and around Addis. The workshop focused on giving the concrete information on how to enter the Swedish market, what the buyer will ask for and how to be competitive and become a real supplier for the Swedish customer.
Next step
During the fall of 2014 a more extensive workshop will take place encompassing and focusing on issues related to competitiveness – for the international as well as the regional market.
For more information contact sofie.wikander@chambertrade.se