The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) will lead a group of black industrialists on an outward trade mission to Uganda in efforts to help them market their products.
The trade mission that will also help the industrialists identify trade markets will take place from 18 to 23 September.
The mission will consist of export-ready black industrialists operating in the economic infrastructure, agro-processing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, plastics, electronics, as well as textiles, footwear and leather sectors.
Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies said the mission forms part of the implementation of the Black Industrialists Programme (BIP).
The programme is one of government’s industrialisation initiatives to expand the country’s industrial base and inject new entrepreneurial dynamism in the economy as outlined in the Industrial Policy Action Plan (IPAP).
“The Black Industrialists Programme is specifically dedicated to supporting the growth and building the global competitiveness of majority black-owned and managed businesses in the manufacturing sector. The intention is to contribute towards shifting the demographic composition of South Africa’s industrial sector by engaging with and nurturing emerging Black Industrialists to tap into a reservoir of potential jobs, revenue, taxes and innovation,” said Minister Davies.
In addition, one of the dti’s strategic goals is to grow the South African manufacturing sector in order to promote industrial development, job creation, investment and exports.
“In order to achieve this, the department embarks on international missions in order to promote exports of South African value-added goods and services to increase market share of the markets in various regions of the world,” he said.
Uganda has been selected due to its geo-political position within the East African region, as well as its economic size and importance for trade with South Africa and as a destination for South African investments.
The mission to Uganda will be the third that the dti has arranged for the Black Industrialists, after trade missions to Nigeria in September 2016 and Namibia in June this year.
Projects
Fifty projects with an estimated grant value of R1.3 billion have been supported through the Black Industrialists Incentive Scheme since the inception of the programme in 2015.
This is matched by approximately R3.6 billion of private sector investment across all sectors with 8 000 jobs supported. The main sectors in which approved entities participate in are agro processing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and plastics. – SAnews.gov.za
