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The Malawi Export Pro-motion Council (Mepc) has called on export businesses in the country to revise their marketing plans and introduce relevant export strategies which are responsive to the challenges of globalisation.
Mepc general manager Lawrence Chaluluka said this during the official opening of the intra-regional export training programme funded by Carl Duisberg Gesellshaft (CDG), a German non profit organisation dedicated to international advanced training and personnel development.
Chaluluka said: “It is my sincere hope that the participants who are here today will identify and assess the strength and weaknesses of their current export strategies and come up with a detailed marketing plan.”
He said according to the International Trade Centre (ITC), the trade potential for southern African countries is promising and is being estimated at around US$1 billion.
Chaluluka advised the 20 participants at the workshop to use the knowledge gained from the Mepc workshop to benefit from the vast market potential.
Opening the workshop, Mepc vice chair Alex Nampota said the training is significant because it will strengthen the country’s export base which, he said, is crucial for the economic development of any country.
Nampota said the opening up of trade markets through globalisation and liberalisation offers tremendous trade and investment opportunities for southern African countries and also exposes businesses to new challenges through increased competition.
He said increasing the level of foreign exchange earnings from both traditional and nontraditional export products is seen by government as a central tenet of economic policy which is a key determinant of future prosperity.
He added that this could also play a pivotal role in government policy of poverty alleviation.
“The training programme has, therefore, been conceived as a collective response to many of the challenges and aims at providing practical knowhow in export marketing to enable the participating companies tap business opportunities in foreign countries,” Nampota said.
The five-week intensive training, facilitated by Business Consult Africa (BCA), has been organised by Mepc in collaboration with ITC, Sadc and Comesa.
The training will have five modules each lasting one week. It will identify potentials for product specialisation of enterprises and, in turn, strengthen their orientation towards market demand.
The participants will also be equipped with relevant skills in export marketing, including the knowledge of regional and international trade agreements as well as insight into the specific conditions of target markets.
Upon completion of the programme in May next year, participants will be invited to an intra-regional marketing forum in South Africa to discuss marketing strategies, products, services and share information and buyers and sellers.
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