Rwanda manufacturers have put together a three-year plan that mainly targets to make local products competitive on the local and international market.This noble idea will require the manufacturing sector to invest in research to develop efficient and modern ways of production, train skilled manpower and above all add value to products.The reality is that everybody is manufacturing one or two products everywhere in the world for the same market; as advancement in technology has made the world a global village.For example, every country in eastern, central and southern Africa grows or can grow maize, mill it and send to the market as maize flour. Yet all are fighting for the same consumer. And as our economies integrate and economic boundaries dismantled, competition can, but only, become stiff. In such a situation, only producers of high quality products will have buyers.Therefore, the only way to stand out of the crowd is to develop and strictly enforce high quality standards and value addition. For the case of foods, value addition should go beyond the usual processing and package to include other aspects such as fortification – adding body nutrients that may be lacking.Naturally, Rwanda may not be able to compete on mass production of certain products because of obvious factors such as small land area, but can compete favourably on the quality front – meaning anything ‘Made in Rwanda’ will best be known for quality rather than being ability to flood the market with volumes.The increasingly discerning consumers look for value for money, price not withstanding – they want to eat health, drink health, dress healthy and sleep healthy.Manufacturers should, therefore, consider the Rwanda National Bureau of Standards as a major partner in their quest to improve quality and be able to capture the international market.
