Mtfombeni Investments eyes AGOA market
MBABANE – Mtfombeni Investments Limited is eying the lucrative AGOA market. Carol Mziyako, the Managing Director, said her company was ready to ship textile and apparel to the USA market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act.
Carol is the second woman in Eswatini to set-up a factory that has space to accommodate more than 800 employees.
Mtfombeni Investments is based at Mahlabaneni in Big Bend, outside the peri-urban area. It was built at a cost of E15 million. The financier is EswatiniBank.
AGOA was enacted on May 18, 2000 as Public Law 106 of the 200th United States (USA) Congress.
Eswatini was the United States’ 167th largest supplier of imports in 2018 as exports to the US totalled E234 million in 2018.
PRIORITY
In the textile and apparel, the recommended priority products for export for Eswatini under the AGOA programme, based on the 2019 top 10 exports and consultations were women’s or girls’ suits, jackets, dresses, skirts, divided skirts, trousers, bib and brace, panties, petticoats, tracksuits and ski suit.
Priority products for men included suits, ensembles, jackets, blazers, trousers, bib and brace, overalls, breeches and shorts.
It must be said that Eswatini has the AGOA Utilisation Strategy and Implemention Plan. It was launched in 2021.
During the launch, former US Ambassador to the Kingdom of Eswatini Jeanne Maloney said the main purpose of AGOA was to enhance market access to the United States for qualifying sub-Saharan African countries, including Eswatini.
She said AGOA was offering incentives to African countries to open their economies and build free markets, providing duty-free access to the USA market for over 6 400 trade products.
The former ambassador said the AGOA Utilisation Strategy and Implementation Plan for the Kingdom of Eswatini would provide a roadmap or recommendations for expanding and diversifying the country’s exports to maximise benefits offered under the AGOA programme.
EXTENSIVE
The plan was developed with support from the USAID Southern Africa Trade and Investment Hub (USAID TradeHub), the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Trade, and with extensive input from the private sector.
Meanwhile, Carol, the Managing Director of Mtfombeni, said she was confident of the AGOA eligibility auditing to determine compliance with international labour and market standards. The managing director pointed to the fact that Rome was not built in one day and team was busy on the ground improving departments and staff welfare to meet international standards.
She was happy that the country regained AGOA and its eligibility would assist her company to penetrate the US market. She was happy that the United States has a fully-fledged embassy in the country.
The MD revealed that the company’s vision was big, not focused solely on the local market but wanted to supply products to the African market and beyond.
“That’s the vision we have as a company,” she said.
On Monday, she said she employed 36 people, mainly emaSwati, who were working for some textile firms in Matsapha.
On another note, Carol, the Managing Director, said they were looking for right places to accommodate the new staff. She said her ambition was to employ 800 people.
At the moment, Mtfombeni Group of Companies employ about 600 workers. There are 124 workers at the textile firm at the moment.
“We have bought new machinery that propels us to employ more people,” she said.
NAVIGATE
The managing director said her company has set up an office in Mozambique to navigate the market there.
Buhle Mvila, the Human Resources Manager, said some workers are based in Matsapha but hailing from Big Bend, Lavumisa and other areas felt that joining Mtfombeni Investments would ease the burden of travelling long distances to their respective homes during monthend.
“Mtfombeni Investments brought the business in which they are experienced closer to their homes. They felt they have to go back home to work for the company closet to their native communities,” she said.
She said the company has, so far, opted for the 7am-5pm daily shift – Monday to Friday. In the previous edition of the Times SUNDAY, Manqoba Khumalo, the Minister of Commerce, Industry and Trade, said he was very delighted to see the growth of Carol’s business. The minister said he visited her small factory in Big Bend in 2022.
During his visit there, the minister explained that Carol shared with him her big vision. He said she took him to the new site where a huge factory was under construction, sponsored by EswatiniBank.
The minister said he was delighted to note that; “this factory is now completed and equipment has now been installed.”