The COMESA-Leather and Leather Products Institute’s Experts Team, led by the Institute’s Executive Director, Prof. Mwinyikione Mwinyihija, and composed of the Institute’s Leather Value Chain Expert Prof Mekonnen Hailemariam  and Cluster Expert, Mr. Nicholas Mudungwe was on Mission to the Republic of Burundi from November 27 to May 2  2016.

The purpose of the Mission was to conduct a training course in “Governance, Cluster Implementation Procedures and Administration”  to SMEs working in leather footwear and leather goods manufacturing, and to discuss with the officials and concerned stakeholders on the best way forward for the  implementation of the National Leather Value Chain Strategy and Training Programs in Leather Technology. It is to be recalled that both the Strategy and training programs development was fully sponsored by COMESA/LLPI and finalized and submitted in 2015.

The Experts Team conducted a three day training in “Governance, Cluster Implementation Procedures and Administration  to 20 SMEs working in leather sector and 7 participants from the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Posts and Tourisme at Royal Palace Hotel, Bujumbura. The training topics encompassed designing incubation frameworks for SMEs, Cluster Governance, Cluster business and action plans and administration.

The Expert Team was also received by the Permanent Secretaries  of the Ministry of Trade, Industry, Posts and Tourisme and Ministry of Education;  Assistant to the Minister of the Ministry of Public Service, labour and Employment, and Chief of Protocol of the President’s Office to discuss on the best way forward for the Burundi Leather Value Chain Strategy implementation and ways and means of the starting of the Vocational and Diploma level Training programs in leather technology. The government is planning to collaborate with LLPI to train around 600 youth in skills that will improve their livelihoods. The two parties (the Government and COMESA/LLPI) will further discuss on ways and means of imparting leather related skills to the youth.

It is pertinent to note that the message of promoting value addition as a mechanism of unleashing value in the leather sector in the COMESA region that COMESA/LLPI has been spearheading is starting to bear fruits in Burundi. In 2013, COMESA/LLPI held a regional workshop in Addis in partnership with UNCTAD. The theme of the workshop was promoting intra trade in value added products. Among many participants, there was Mr. Bede Bedetse, who is the owner of Afritan tannery in Bujumbura, Burundi. For many years he was focusing on the production and export of wet blue, however the message on promoting the production of value added products, hit him hard and he quickly decided to upgrade his tannery to a leather finishing stage. Three years down the line some of his leather is being used in footwear production in Burundi and the region. However, the zenith of his success, three years down the line has been marked by manufacturing upholstery leather, which has now replaced synthetics in the manufacturing of furniture in Burundi. This is historical, and COMESA/LLPI team and trainees took time to visit a shop where some of the sofas made from finished leather from Afritan, were on display. In the picture below , Professor Mwinyihija, congratulated Mr. Bede Bedetse on his milestone achievement, which is set to motivate other tanneries in the COMESA region to emulate this.

The Experts Team mission was successfully completed with issuance of certificates to trainees and fruitful discussions with concerned Ministries on the way forward for the implementation of the vocational and diploma level curricula and national leather value chain strategy. See picture below some of the participants showing off their certificates.

Some of the quotes, which were captured during the training, are as follows:

Mr. Gedeor King Nduwimana  – President of the Association of Footwear Artisans in Burundi “ This cannot end without me acknowledging the importance of the three days to our business operations; we were working in isolation for many years and we have not developed by an inch; this training has transformed our mind sets by demonstrating the importance of clustering; the concept of clustering has been well presented to us, and it is now very clear in our minds that joint collaboration will enhance our business operations and competitiveness and the future will not be the same”

Mr. Zepherin Nsahimana, the Secretary General of the Association of Footwear Artisan in Burundi “ The training has allowed us to see far ahead we are more informed and we are ready to take the challenge”

Ms. Kauziza Alda Pamela “These three days were very useful, we have leant a lot, and what we can only say is thank you to COMESA/LLPI, and we are ready to transform our operations”

The Ethiopia Leather Sector Value Chain Five Year Strategy that was facilitated and fully sponsored by COMESA/LLPI was Launched on 25th November 2016 at Nexus Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The Launching Event was graced by H.E. Tadesse Haile, State Minister, Ministry of Industry of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and H.E. Prof. Mwinykione Mwinyihija, Executive Director of COMESA - Leather and Leather Products Institute (COMESA/LLPI) and more than 30 participants representing different institutions, organizations and enterprises across the leather value chain.

The Strategy formulation, pre-validation and validation processes were fully participatory, involving sector players across the value chain and stakeholders from Public and Private sectors and Academia.

Mr. Wondu Legesse, Director General of the Ethiopia Leather Industry Development Institute (LIDI), during his opening remark emphasized that the Strategy Development Process considered the Global Dynamics in the leather industry and experiences of different countries which progressed in the Industry. He also iterated that Strategy Development by itself is not enough; it must be followed by detailed work plan and implementation. Finally, Mr. Wondu appreciated COMESA/LLPI for the support rendered to the Ethiopia Leather Industry.

Prof. Mwinyihija, during his Strategy Handing over Remark, stressed that COMESA/LLPI in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry will evaluate the implementation of the Strategy annually. He also mentioned that the Ethiopia Leather Industry Association (ELIA) Strategy is also finalized and will also be launched in few weeks time.

H.E. Mr. Tadesse Haile, during his launching remarks expressed his extreme happiness and appreciated the participatory approach that was followed in the development processes of the Strategy. H.E. Mr. Tadesse said that the Strategy will have a great role to play towards achieving the Ethiopian Government’s set GTP II industrialization goals.

H.E. Tadesse thanked COMESA/LLPI for all the support provided to develop the Ethiopia Leather Industry.

The Strategy unpacking meeting will take place soon.

The Executive Director of COMESA/LLPI participated in the "The BREXIT: Prospects for India-UK FTA " meeting held on November 8, 2016 in New Delhi India.
ED of LLPI was invited as one of the main speakers drawn from global audience relating to developmental issues and looking for opportunities to work and trade with the UK.
During the same Meeting the ED of LLPI met with Ms Rita Teaotia, Secretary of Department of Commerce of the Government of India.

Commonwealth Secretariat in its project on “India’s Global Value Chains: Linking LDCs” has identified the export opportunities of India in 50 markets including USA, EU, UK, RCEP countries, Kenya, Nigeria, Tanzania, Ghana and South Africa. A market access of around $22 billion has been estimated that India can get by exporting identified 35 lead products where India has the potential of forming its own global value chains (GVCs). 20 LDCs and 3 South Asian countries have been identified which can export intermediate products and inputs to these GVCs.

To actualize the existing potential trade and investments and link the Commonwealth countries, which share the same language and similar legal institutions, India-Commonwealth SME Association was launched by the Secretariat in June 2016. For developing and least developed countries in Commonwealth SMEs represent an opportunity of wider economic development and poverty alleviation. Linking these SMEs to each other as well as to the SMEs in the developed members of the Commonwealth can provide huge opportunities to export and invest for all member states.

The main objective of the Association is to provide a sustainable platform for exporters and importers to regularly meet, build awareness of existing global standards as well as to encourage regional and extra regional investments in areas where the countries have competitiveness but lacks capacity. The association will be beneficial for both India as well as the Commonwealth nations more particularly the LDCs, as it will enable Indian firms to source their inputs more competitively while it will help LDCs to improve their supply capacities as well as diversify their export baskets. In other words, the association will help in enhancing and diversifying the exports of Commonwealth countries. This is first of its kind Association where India will take a lead and connect the Commonwealth countries, a platform which can provide huge opportunities for all member countries but is yet to be explored systematically in a sustained manner.

Leather and Leather Products is one of the eight Chapters identified in the Global Value Chain and COMESA/LLPI as a regional body working on leather and leather products development will have immense role in the Association.

The ED is also the Advisory Board Member of the India-Commonwealth SME Association.

The important issues of Indo-Africa continued relationship and pursuance of developmental goals were briefly discussed. Accompanying the ED of LLPI were Dr. Banga of ComSec and Mr. Yassin Awale, the Leather Sector Advisor to the Cabinet Secretary -Ministry of Trade, Kenya.

COMESA-LLPI organized the above one day Workshop for key Stakeholders that was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, ELIA Meeting Hall, on 8th November 2016. The purpose of the workshop was to pre-validate the Draft Medium Term Strategic Action Plan, 2017-2021, (MTSAP) document through intensive discussion among key stakeholders, invited by the Association. The Workshop was represented by 7 participants from various leather and allied industries/enterprises and COMESA/LLPI.

The MTSAP (Strategy) document was developed by the COMESA/LLPI on the basis of extensive consultations among the leather value chain actors, review of important documents from private and public sector nationally and beyond, in close collaboration with ELIA.
The Strategy planning attempted to align ELIA’s Mission and Vision, identify and find ways of formulating workable Strategy to assist its members and the Government as well. During the one day workshop presentations by COMESA/LLPI Experts were made and held discussions on the Draft Document and comments made by participants.

The Workshop recommended enriching the Documents by various inputs provided, and COMESA/LLPI to make the Document ready for further validation by the General Assembly of the Association intended to take place in the second week of December 2016.

The African Union organized Commodities Strategy Validation Workshop for Africa and Meeting of the AU Commodities Task Force was held in Nairobi, Kenya from 2 - 4 November 2016. The purpose of the workshop was to validate the recommendations of the AU Commodities Strategy with Private Sector stakeholders and other key actors. More than 30 participants from different institutions across Africa took part in the workshop and COMESA-Leather and leather products institute (COMESA/LLPI) was represented by Prof. Mekonnen Hailemariam, Leather value Chain Expert and Personal Assistant to the Executive Director.

The Commodities Strategy document was developed by the AU Department of Trade and Industry in close collaboration with other key Departments notably, Department of Rural Economy and Agriculture, Department of Infrastructure and Energy, Department of Economic Affairs, the Bureau of the Chairperson. The Strategy lays out a vision for commodity-led industrialization: to use commodities as a driver for achieving the structural social and economic transformation of Africa and Agenda 2063.  The AU Commodities Strategy reviews the state of play for high-priority commodities sectors in Africa, namely agriculture, mining, and energy.  It also focuses on two critical cross-cutting issues: Managing commodity price volatility and Industrialization through Commodities.

During the three days workshop presentations and discussions were held on key recommendations of the Agricultural, Mining and Energy Commodities Sub Committees as well as on crosscutting recommendations. African Commodity Exchanges experiences from Ethiopia and Malawi were also presented and discussed. Prof. Mekonnen from COMESA\LLPI by briefing participants on the economic importance of the leather sector for Africa in general and COMESA region in particular requested to consider it as one of the key commodities.  He also highlighted the activities that COMESA/LLPI is currently working for the transformation of the African Leather Value Chain from Commodity Dependence to Product Development.

COMESA-Leather and Leather Products Institute facilitated top leather Academics from Sudan leading Universities to assist Didan Kimathi University of Technology in their  Leather Technology training program.

The   Sudan University of Science and Technology (SUST) appointed a board for its Technological Leather Industry Incubator to facilitate active participation of the private sector. This follows the meeting held between SUST and COMESA-Leather and Leather Products Institute in August 2016  that planned actions encompassing Enhancement of the activities of the incubator to serve both Students and the private sector in Sudan; Streamline to private sector participation in the advisory board of the incubator and Tools and Equipment support to SUST- Technological Leather Industry Incubator.

The COMESA-Leather and Leather Product Institute’s Executive Director, Prof. Mwinyikione Mwinyihija, who is in Madagascar for a COMESA meeting, visited a group called Ts'art Fibre Association, that belongs to a greater Cluster Group known as the Chambre D'Artisanat D'Antananarivo (C.A.A).  C.A.A has more than 500 members that encompass cottage based tanners, women fiber spinners from the rural areas of Madagascar, artisans who weave the artifacts and producing leather products.

Prof. Mwinyihija noted with appreciation that the Cluster’s intervention areas have strong similarities with LLPI’s mandated responsibilities to develop the leather sector in the COMESA region. Thus, Prof. Mwinyihija will be meeting with the relevant Government officials to discuss on the best way forward for possible establishment of linkages and collaborations between COMESA/LLPI and the C.A.A Cluster, as well as other  leather sector players in Madagascar.

A Four-member delegation of DR Congo visited the Ethiopian Leather Sector from September 25 to October 1, 2016. The Delegation was accorded a warm welcome at COMESA-Leather and Leather Products Institute, by Prof. Mwinyikione Mwinyihija – Executive Director of COMESA/LLPI, and other senior members of the Institute. The visiting delegation included Mr. SAFARI BASINYIZE Roger, Prime Minister’s Advisor-DR Congo, Mr. BIDUAYA MUSUMBU EZECHIEL  and Mr. MANGA BOLENGU VITAL,  both Directors at the Office for the Promotion of Congolese Small and Medium Enterprises (OPEC) and Mr. BAHATI KAYEYE, SME owner and professional footwear manufacturer.

The visit was a benchmarking exercise, as part of the implementation of the feasibility study for the establishment of a Pilot SME Incubator in the Leather Sector in Kinshasa, and the country’s Leather Sector Value Chain Strategy Development. COMESA Leather and Leather Products Institute (LLPI) is facilitating the execution of these assignments in collaboration with OPEC.

The Delegation held meetings with COMESA/LLPI Experts and visited the Leather Industry Development Institute of Ethiopia, Tanneries, Footwear manufacturing Enterprises, and SMEs organized into Cluster and those operating outside Cluster. 

The Delegation expressed their appreciation to COMESA/LLPI for the well organized visit program and said that they have met all their mission objectives and were highly impressed with what they have seen.

The National Leather Value Chain Strategy unpacking workshop and Curricula Development in Leather Technology at Certificate and diploma levels were held at the Asmara Palace Hotel, from September 14-15, 2016. The strategy was developed under the Ministry of Trade and Industry in collaboration with COMESA-Leather and Leather Products Institute. His Excellency Mr. Arefaine Berhe, Minister, Ministry of Agriculture, officially opened the workshop. A total of more than 30 participants from different public and private institutions/enterprises and academia took part in the workshop.

His Excellency Mr. Arefaine in his opening speech thanked COMESA/LLPI for all the technical and financial support, from the very beginning of the Strategy formulation participatory process to the present unpacking event. His Excellency, by mentioning the great potential of the leather sector, reiterated the government is committed for the implementation of the Strategy and collaboration with private sector.

Through the unpacking process, a responsibility matrix was developed for the implementation of the five key priority objectives of the Strategy that were further broken into 21 sub-objectives.

The full implementation of the strategy will facilitate the transformation of the lives of many Eritreans and will contribute towards poverty reduction as envisaged by the Government.