UNIDO Organises Capacity Building On AfCFTA Rules Of Origin For SMES

Knowing which country to export to and meeting market requirements are crucial for businesses particularly for Small and Medium Scaled enterprises (SMEs).

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) – The West Africa Competitiveness Programme (WACOMP) Ghana component, organized a two-day training workshop for SMEs on the theme “Capacity Building on AfCFTA Rules of Origin for SMEs” from the 20th – 21st July 2022.
The workshop attracted 83 participants from the cosmetics, cassava, fruits, clothing and textiles value chains.

The objective of the training was to build the capacity of WACOMP Small and Medium Enterprises in the targeted value chains on the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement and Rules of Origin to enable them to take advantage of the opportunities provided by the AfCFTA.

Describing their experiences at the workshop, all the participants indicated that it was educative, interactive, informative and insightful.

Abednego Brandy Opey , a participant said: “ It was difficult understanding the AfCFTA, I hear about it in the news but it is not easy to understand, So the training has helped me to really understand what the agreement aims to achieve, the right countries to source raw materials and how to go about it including taking advantage to trade within the Africa market”.

Abigail Amponsah Addy of Hencky Farms, another participant also said: I now know what form of partnership I can take advantage of within the AfCFTA and engage in trade partnerships that would eventually benefit interested businesses within the African markets.

Churchill Kumadey, CEO of Churchwin Trading said: “I came all the way from Tamale. UNIDO, EU, and WACOMP did a great job putting together this training on the AfCFTA. It gives particularly those of us in the manufacturing industry a very good competitive edge and a good start on how to be able to understand all the basics we need to trade with other African countries, how to go about the certification process and meeting requirements to trade under the agreement.