The European Union (EU) has asked the government to embrace modern technology in areas such as manufacturing industry and agriculture to improve production and job creation.
\nEU Ambassador to Malawi, Marchel Gerrmann, said that it is important for Malawi to emphasise technology to spur growth in manufacturing industry.
\nHe made the remarks when he visited the Malawi Council for the Handicapped (Macoha) Bangwe factory in Blantyre.
\nThe visit was to appreciate the impact of sewing machines worth over K98 million the EU donated to the facility in March last year.
\n\u201cOur priorities are tilted towards support in growth in the manufacturing industry and job creation. We want Malawi to invest in production and hence investing more in modern technology,\u201d he said.
\nThe EU Ambassador said he was delighted to learn that the three months that the factory has been using modern machines, production has gone up from 400 pieces to over a thousand.
\n\u201cI am delighted because this is what we want, investment should come with returns and should bring change. The profits, the jobs will make a positive impact to many lives of Malawians,\u201d he said.
\nMinister of Trade, Industry and Tourism, Henry Mussa, said based on the success so far, the government was thinking of expanding the factory to ensure it accommodates more people who would undergo skills training.
\n\u201cIt is pleasing to note that all this is being done by our friends with disabilities. They are able to produce quality outfit, uniforms, embroidery and lots others in textiles and garments. We are more than willing to help them expand,\u201d Mussa said.
\nMacoha partnered with Teveta which sends about 100 interns every year at the factory for skills training in tailoring.
\nMacoha Executive Director, Peter Ngomwa, said they have been struggling to satisfy demand from markets within and beyond as they were using archaic, manual machines with low productivity.
\n\u201cWe have not fully started using the machines because most of them are sophisticated but the three months we have used them revenue has jumped by 43 percent. We should also be able to create 80 more jobs when we fully start using the machines,\u201d he said.
\nThe support by EU is under a project called Malawi Enterprise Productivity Enhancement aimed at integrating Malawi\u2019s products in Comesa and other regional markets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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