SME Promotion Agency, architect of the Campack-Q programme, recently published the list of 30 beneficiaries for 2021.

Beneficiaries of the Cameroon Food Packaging and Quality programme for 2021 have been announced. The list has just been published by the SME Promotion Agency (APME), the institution managing the project. For this year, the two sectors concerned are agri-food and cosmetics.

“Campack-Q is a programme that seeks to increase the availability of local products on the local market. A recent survey showed that locally manufactured products were lacking in three areas: packaging, market visibility and labelling," Marc Belinga, head of the SME development and growth service unit at APME explained. The 30 companies selected in the cities of Douala, Yaoundé and Ebolowa will receive assistance that will enable them improve the quality of their products, thereby facilitating the award of certifications by the Standards and Quality Agency. New packaging solutions will be proposed to the managers of these business establishments. Such solutions could include strategies meant to reduce production costs. “This year, emphasis shall be placed on labelling, often considered non-compliant by the Ministry of Trade. Our goal is to group SMEs we support under a common label and membership to this label will be a guarantee of product quality”, APME's representative added.

 
This year's Campack-Q programme will also provide these business establishments with quality control kits, including weighing scales, thermometers, refractometers, alcohol meters, etc. The assistance we provide is not financial.  “Our main intention is to give better market visibility to products made in Cameroon and to increase the market share of the products we support, helping them to improve production both in terms of quality and quantity.  Furthermore, with the advent of the African Continental Free Trade Area, we must look forward to supplying both local and international markets with products made in Cameroon”, Jean Marie Louis Badga, APME's General Manager, explained. 

Although this programme is still in its pilot phase, over 100 businesses have benefited from its activities. Some of them have already received ANOR's quality certification, while others now use standard labels and have seen their products grace the shelves of supermarkets and other outlets that sell Made in Cameroon products. 

Aicha NSANGOU N.

Source: www.cameroon-tribune.cm