BUJUMBURA August 29th (ABP) – The Burundi Prime Minister, Alain Guillaume Bunyoni, proceeded on Thursday August 26, 2021, in Bujumbura, to the official launch of the industrial fair organized by the Association of Industrialists of Burundi (AIB) from 26 to 28 August 2021 for its 4th edition, under the theme: “A dynamic and responsible industrial sector committed to increasing exports and creating jobs.”
In his speech, the Prime Minister indicated that this industrial fair is an opportunity for Burundian companies to share experiences and establish mutually beneficial partnerships with other companies in the sub-region according to the win-win principle. He thus invited the industrialists of Burundi to take initiatives and to think of the possibilities.
According to Prime Minister Bunyoni, manufacturers should improve their value chains, diversify farms so that foreign countries are inundated with products “made in Burundi”. Manufacturers are also called upon to manufacture good quality products to be competitive on the regional, continental or even global market. He ended by inviting them to get fully involved in this event to get the maximum benefit from it.
The AIB chairman, Mr. Olivier Suguru, specified that at the end of the 3 days that the industrial fair will last, solutions to certain challenges will be proposed but others will not find answers. He cited in particular the lack of skilled labor, the lack of creativity, the lack of product certification.
Mr. Suguru appealed to the country’s authorities for a deep and structural reform of the BBN (Burundian Bureau for Standardization) for its harmonization with the other offices of the EAC, to make the special economic zone operational and profitable, an extension and an appropriation of the laws on counterfeiting and industrial property, the creation and operationalization of a research and development center of excellence to contribute to the problem of the mismatch between training and employment.