Ready to eat processed foods manufacturer, African Deli has added a new products to its portfolio, launching its new baked beans in tomato sauce.
Speaking at the launch on Friday, Minister of Industrialisation and Trade, Lucia Iipumbu said that this is a step in the right direction as country in creating food security and promoting local business initiatives and domestic investments, which may culminate, into business integration and exports.
“The commitment by this company to produce locally and delivering to local, regional, and international markets competitively is therefore admirable,”Iipumbu said.
She went on to highlight that the initiative resonates well with the Buy Local, Grow Namibia campaign initiative that is coined by the Ministry of Industrialisation and Trade and has the main purpose to stimulate the local consumption of goods and services such as those produced by African Deli.
“The campaign further create awareness on the importance of consuming our proudly locally manufactured goods and services and by extension to educate consumers about the economic and social advantages that local businesses bring to a community.
“The campaign further aims to connect both producers and retailers while educating the former on the required standards for shelving in local retail shops. The ultimate goal of this campaign is to create a thriving local economy by maximising the potential of local businesses and increasing their market share while ultimately finding shelve space for these local products,” she said.
She went on to state that this investment and new venture speaks largely to value addition, Agro – processing and diversification as key elements of the growth at Home concept.
“It is our hope that our local produce will be infused in the market and much needed offtake will be created for local producers of the inputs. This can be promoted through smart partnerships including involvement of Small- Medium Enterprise as well as providing support and training on quality standards to realise growth in the industry and raw material suppliers. It is pleasing to note that African Deli has committed to participate through its networks in training of local farmers to promote and develop skills on farming of most of its current inputs,” she further said.