Mozambique: CTA and FAN launch national company certification programme – Press release

Login

Register

http://www.clubofmozambique.com/

Mozambique: CTA and FAN launch national company certification programme – Press release

8:49 CAT | 22 Oct 2019

Photo: Supplied

CTA and FAN – the Foundation for Business Environment Improvement – on September 9 launched the National Companies Certification Programme (PRONACER), a pilot project aimed at empowering SMEs and ensuring their effective and sustainable participation in the supply chain of products, goods and services to mining megaprojects in the country.

CTA President Agostinho Vuma said on the occasion that the certification of companies was an important step in capitalisiing on opportunities and facing the challenges that arise in the context of the large investments Mozambique is hosting, especially in the hydrocarbons sector.

Vuma said PRONACER was a private sector contribution to add credibility and competitiveness, making products and services provided by national companies increasingly eligible to fill the necessary requirements to participate in the emerging business opportunities brought by megaprojects.

“PRONACER is another CTA contribution within the materialisation of the 2017 – 2020 Strategic Plan, to promote a business sector which is cohesive, productive, and generator and distributor of national wealth. We embrace this challenge inspired by the experience of other parts of the continent and the world as well as the evidence that will be created by national actors and foreigners around the need for better participation of national entrepreneurs in this emerging industry, with a view to boosting the national economy and the development of our SMEs,” Vuma said, pointing out that, “as the domestic private sector representatives, and it being the main mission of the CTA to promote measures that remove barriers and improve the business environment, we intend this pilot initiative to launch a national companies, goods and products certification programme.”

Ctafan1 — *Agostinho Vuma. [Photo: Supplied]*

PRONACER will be implemented with a pilot scheme focusing on the coal, oil and natural gas sectors, and it is expected, among other results, to increase the number of domestic companies that do business with major projects, and improve SMEs’ access to certification.

The project will comprise of two distinct phases. Firstly, the training of national companies will prepare them for certification, which for eligible companies will be co-funded through BCI financing facilities.

The process is expected to cover about 200 SMEs, which could represent an increase of about 400% of certified companies in Mozambique.

FAN CEO Leonardo Simão stressed the need for certification, because international companies operating in the extractive industry require it, and the scheme therefore is not motivated by whim, but is a risk minimisation instrument in compliance with the financing and investment conditions that have to be accepted for the completion of projects.

He said that while the regulations on local content was still in early stage of implementation, it was time for domestic companies to learn about the certifications required for their participation in the major projects, which could bring them great economic and financial benefits.

“Certified companies will have better opportunities and capacity to participate in the major projects, becoming stable and well paid, and creating more jobs for Mozambicans, with respect for their labour rights, thereby contributing to improving the well-being of families. Stable and prosperous families are an essential condition for social peace and conflict prevention,” Simão observed.

Minister of Industry and Trade Ragendra de Sousa said the PRONACER programme responded to one of the main issues of concern to the government and the private sector: the need to develop capabilities and opportunities for local content in oil and gas development projects.

Minister De Sousa said that company certification was a visionary and strategic decision, allowing companies to meet the needs of competitiveness and sustainable development.

“Obtaining certification has become necessary for local companies wishing to participate in the supply chain of products, goods and services to the coal, oil and natural gas industries in Mozambique,” he said, stressing that international standards were increasingly demanding, and that the process of leveraging international quality must involve both the private and public sectors.

Source: CTA / Press Release