Niger hosts workshop on Women entrepreneurs in West Africa
Niamey, Niger (PANA) - A regional capacity-building workshop for women entrepreneurs in West Africa began Wednesday in Niamey, Niger, to develop and consolidate the quality culture at the level of economic actors in the private sector.
The workshop is organized by the West Africa Quality System Program (QSAPP), funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
The meeting, which brings together participants from ECOWAS Member States and Mauritania, aims to raise the awareness of women entrepreneurs in the private sector on the issues of quality and regional quality infrastructure (QRA) of ECOWAS.
It is also to encourage them to engage their companies in the quality process or to be more considerate of quality.
"It is undeniable that having a relevant quality infrastructure opens the door to the international value chain; quality therefore needs guidance to adapt quickly to economic changes and social realities," said the Nigerien Minister of Industry, Zaneidou Amirou, at the opening of the workshop.
Also, Amirou recalled that Niger has adopted the national quality policy since 2018 in connection with the quality policy of ECOWAS. "This also reflects the commitment of the President of the Republic, Issoufou Mahamadou, to support the national infrastructure of quality to make it more operational as part of its regional and international recognition," said the Minister of Industry.
This national policy aims to protect the health of populations, to meet market requirements to remove the obstacles related to the development of Niger's productive sector; to ensure compliance with local, sub-regional and international market requirements for goods and services or products imported into Niger; promote sustainable economic development.
The representative of the ECOWAS Commissioner for Industry and Private Sector Promotion stated that the community organization has adopted important documents related to the development of the Regional Quality Infrastructure.
Mr. Niafo Yaya added that all actions carried out by ECOWAS are intended to provide a concrete response to the recurring problem of the quality of products and services in the market and secondly to establish a real culture of quality in the region.
He said that one of the major developments in Africa is the consideration of the role of women in development projects and programs "with the aim of transforming African economies into a single large market and boosting intra-African trade to create jobs, promote investment, encourage growth and strengthen the integration of African countries into the global economy."
The representative of the European Union welcomed the fact that the quality theme, ''prime lever of competitiveness and consumer health'', is an important part of regional and Community initiatives.
"I am confident that this workshop will further contribute to disseminating and strengthening the quality culture in the ECOWAS region," he said.
-0- PANA SA/IS/KND/VAO 4Sept2019
