By By Bahle Gama
The Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority (EIPA) applauded the government for Eswatini’s retention on the list of countries eligible to benefit from the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
EIPA CEO Sibani Mngomezulu said in its capacity as a Trade and Investment Promotion Agency, EIPA noted the importance of this milestone for the nation in enhancing export trade.
“We applaud the government of Eswatini through the guidance of the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Trade for the commitment and unwavering support to create a stable business environment for traders and investors to operate within our borders,” Mngomezulu said.
The CEO stated that the retention of Eswatini under AGOA means that businesses in the country will continue to enjoy preferential trade terms when selling their goods to the American market and in so doing, lays a platform for an increase in exports.
He stated that such achievements enable EIPA to effectively carry out its mandate to attract, promote, encourage, and facilitate local and foreign direct investment (FDI) and trade in Eswatini for economic development.
EIPA reported that the country’s annual export figures through AGOA in 2022 stood at over US$23.5 million, with trade largely dominated by the export of sugar followed by textiles and apparel, nuts and processed food as well as handicrafts and cosmetics.
Recent training opportunities availed by EIPA given for free are aimed at capacitating local traders with the skills and technical knowledge required to export to the US.
The training also included product development, export standards, export logistics, export finance, and marketing business for export.
Another support mechanism includes EIPA’s collaboration with Business Eswatini through the support of the USAID Africa Trade and Investment Southern Africa Buy-in Activity in hosting the Annual Eswatini Exporter Awards.
The awards seek to recognize and reward the outstanding performance and noteworthy efforts of local exporters in overcoming market entry barriers and as a result, achieving successful and consistent export trade.
EIPA further reported that this year, several women-owned, youth-owned, and MSMEs formed part of the list of exporters who won awards for their exports to AGOA and other markets around the globe.
“Opportunity to increase active companies in this space”
EIPA CEO Sibani Mngomezulu says Eswatini’s retention in AGOA allows the country to increase the number of active companies in the space while supporting the need to see Eswatini being an export-led and private sector-driven economy.
“This makes opportunities for training critical in aligning trade with the current economic growth objective,” he said.
Mngomezulu noted that even though the country has over 50,000 Macro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) currently less than 200 are exporters with most of these trading only in the domestic market.
The CEO further stated that trade finance has also shown itself to be an area that some exporters struggle with when it comes to producing and delivering large orders to customers abroad.
To create healthy debate and provide the information needed on this subject, EIPA facilitated trade incentives training with several partners including financial services institutions, industrial financiers, and many others.
Some of the topics unpacked included the Export Credit Guarantee Scheme, how exporters can enhance their competitiveness through trade incentives, the MSMEs Credit Guarantee Scheme, insuring stock in transit and access to funding for youth-owned businesses.
Mngomezulu encouraged local businesses to take advantage of the AGOA trade agreement.
“Our doors are open for those with export-ready businesses to come forward and get the help they need to make their export goals a reality. Businesses that want to export under AGOA should do the necessary research and ensure the goods they offer are appealing to the market.
We have a great opportunity to take further advantage of AGOA as a country,” he said.
