LocationsGovernment Launches UNDP-supported Local Certification Scheme – Ingelo
November 14, 2024
Minister of Commerce Industry and Trade, Hon. Manqoba Khumalo, and UNDP Resident Representative, Henrik Franklin, learning more about coffee produced by one of the local MSMEs.
Small businesses in Eswatini face various challenges, including limited access to funding, cash flow difficulties in managing daily operations, investing in growth opportunities, and even meeting payroll. However, one of the most significant barriers is ensuring product quality, health, and safety standards. This limitation makes it difficult for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to enter formal retail markets, as concerns over product safety and quality often push them into informal markets. These markets lack the stability and profitability necessary for sustainable, long-term growth.
According to Nkosephayo Manyatsi, a young founder of AgriSol Foods, a jam-processing startup, navigating the complexities of market access can be daunting because MSMEs often lack the necessary networks and knowledge to connect with buyers. Existing bureaucratic hurdles can also be overwhelming to a small businessperson.
“In addition to these challenges, we face issues such as inadequate or improper infrastructure and limited access to information about best practices, trends, and consumer preferences,” she said.
Ingelo Certification Scheme to ensure quality products.
In response, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), through its innovation facility, Accelerator Lab, partnered with the Eswatini Standards Authority (SWASA), the Quality and Regulatory Infrastructure Department (QIRD), the SME Unit, and the Small Enterprises Development Company (SEDCO), all under the Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Trade, to develop the Ingelo Local Certification Scheme. This scheme aims to establish a trusted certification process that assures retailers of product quality and enhances MSMEs' access to mainstream markets. The Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Trade, Hon. Manqoba Khumalo, launched Ingelo on November 13, at the Royal Villas Hotel, Ezulwini.
“Through this incubation certification scheme, we want to carve and support our MSMEs until they are ready to produce quality and safe products that attract export markets,” Hon. Khumalo told representatives of business organizations, development partners and policymakers.
He added: “The scheme will work through various standards, including a newly developed national cottage standard developed by SWASA. This standard will ensure that the production sites and procedures or systems are safe and adhere to quality standards.”
In its initial stages, the Ingelo certification scheme will benefit 20 MSMEs whose products – including dairy, beverages, jams, peanut butter, cake mix, chilli, floor polish, biscuits, rusks, and coffee – will undergo a rigorous certification process. These businesses are expected to receive certification between late 2025 and early 2026. Currently, Eswatini lacks accredited laboratories to test products, forcing the regulatory body (SWASA) to rely on facilities in neighbouring countries, which makes certification costs prohibitive for local MSMEs. The minimum cost for certifying a single product can be as high as E15,000 (USD818).
Ingelo Certification Scheme unveiled.
Speaking at the same event, UNDP Resident Representative Henrik Franklin said the Ingelo Local Certification Scheme will align local standards with international best practices, making it easier for the MSMEs to compete locally initially while they gain experience and eventually expand to regional markets and beyond.
“The Ingelo Local Certification Scheme presents a significant step towards empowering our MSMEs, which are vital to the economic fabric of Eswatini,” he said, adding: “As we gather here, we recognise the critical role that MSMEs play in driving innovation, creating jobs, especially for our youth, and contributing to the resilience of our communities.”
Franklin further said MSMEs are not just businesses; they are the lifeblood of the economy, providing essential goods and services while fostering local entrepreneurship and supporting vital livelihoods.
Speaking at the same event, Lincoln Motsa, the Managing Director of Linac Enterprises, trading as OK Foods expressed his gratitude to the Ministry, SWASA and UNDP for developing Ingelo.
“This initiative provides us, as retailers, the assurance that the goods we sell to our customers meet the required standards, aiding the MSMEs in developing and improving their product quality,” said Motsa.
More MSMEs are expected to benefit from Ingelo post the initial stage.