Locally made products at a recent exhibition
Rwandans are pooling hundreds of locally made products aimed at exhibiting the country’s growing potential to compete with foreign products in the market.
From December 14 -20, the second edition of Made in Rwanda trade-fair will be held at Gikondo Expo ground with over 300 exhibitors expected.
“The only way to promote our own industries and increase the production capacity is by promoting locally made goods. That’s the logic behind Made in Rwanda Expo,” Donatien Mungwarareba the PSF Director of Communication, Advocacy and Labour relations told KT Press.
This Expo is organized by Private Sector Federation (PSF) in partnership with the government.
Mungwarareba said that Made in Rwanda Expo will display companies whose goods reflect a shift in production process and the implementation of value added strategies.
Eric Kabera, the Head of Communications and Marketing at PSF told KT Press that accessibility of local products is becoming obvious.
“In the past, it was difficult for example to find locally made construction materials like cement. Currently, when you go to any shop across the country, you find Rwanda Cement on sale. The trend is promising,” he said.
Agro processing, he said, is also improving, especially in the component of beverage production and animal feeds.
According to PSF officials, the textile industry has a new entrant C&H garment which is gaining momentum and quickly ending the monopoly by Utexrwa since 1980’s.
Rwanda Development Board (RDB) is also registering more ventures in the apparel industry, the most recent being Kigali Garments by local tailors.
The Made in Rwanda campaign is a timely initiative whose success would boost domestic production and stimulate local consumption habits.
It is through the growth of industries that produce high quality goods for domestic use and export that Rwanda’s import bill will be diminished.
Rwanda trade deficit has for years been in the range of 15% of the total gross domestic product. This is an issue the government is trying to address, to prevent unsustainable balance of payments.
More locally made products have began flooding Rwanda market
