Today, June 1^st 2023, at Kigali Serena Hotel, Honourable Prof Jean Chrysostome Ngabitsinze Minister of Trade and Industry officiated the certification award ceremony that was organized by Rwanda Standards Board (RSB) and TradeMark Africa (TMA) to handover ISO 22000 and RS184 certificates while other 42 enterprises are in the pipeline towards certification.

Hon. Prof Jean Chrysostome Ngabitsinze officiated the certificate hndover ceremony

 ISO 22000 is a standard on Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) while RS 184 is on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP). The certification was supported by the Quality Standards Project implemented by Rwanda Standards Board and TradeMark Africa with funding from Finland and UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO). The project targeted strengthening the capacity for quality standards capacity and certification of players in three main categories of agri-food supply chain namely catering, animal feeds and transport and storage.

Participants

The project’s ultimate aim is to grow food trade in Rwanda by enhancing sustainable food safety management. Already agri-food business constitutes a significant share of Rwanda’s exports and higher safety standards along the entire chain are expected to catalyse strong growth. Further as part of the project, 15 local consultants were trained on food safety, 57 young professionals in the food industry mentored, 33 Trainer of Trainers trained, and 25 food safety auditors coached.

Participants

Speaking during certification ceremony for qualifying enterprises Prof. Jean Chrysostome Ngabitsinze noted that the capacity building and certification in the agri-food industry aligned well with the Government of Rwanda’s tourism promotion and Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) strategy.

“Promoting food safety and building the capacity of enterprises to implement food standards along the value chains is critical towards the realization of Rwanda’s goals to strengthen value chains, ensure quality and safe food is available both at domestic market and in hospitality establishments, promote Made in Rwanda exports and ensure their competitiveness in global trade; and finally on the other hand achieving the country’s vision to make Rwanda a tourism hub in East Africa.” Said the Minister.

Participants

Rwanda Standards Board Director General Murenzi Raymond lauded his organisations partnership with TradeMark Africa over the last decade noting it had shaped the future of standardisation, quality testing, certification and metrology in the country. “Our partnership with TMA went beyond what we had fixed as our goals to see what more could be done to ensure the business community and the country fully benefit from the established capacity. RSB acquired the capacity to offer improved and internationally recognized services; which is a key enabler for the business community to participate in domestic and international trade. Also, the programme to build the capacity of agri-food enterprises, young graduates and certifying more than 20 enterprises including hotels, catering services and animal feed manufacturing companies cannot go unnoticed” said Murenzi.

Participants

TradeMark Africa Acting Country Director for Rwanda David Butera, committed to his organisation’s continued work with various government agencies in Rwanda, to address different trade barriers for growth and prosperity of Rwanda.

“This country has great potential for the agri-food sector by in both local and regional markets. Food trade is growing in the country bringing important socio and economic benefits, but this can also be an avenue for foodbone diseases. Quality food and feed standards thus address this risk while also curbing food waste which overall boosts trust and confidence in their trade” remarked Butera.  

Group photo of certified companies and officials

Guided by its vision to provide quality and safety solutions through the provision of standardization, metrology, testing and certification services for sustainable socio-economic development, RSB continues the journey to fulfil its mission to be a highly reputed party in providing internationally recognized customer-suited standardization, metrology and conformity assessment services. In this regard, the institution has undertaken the journey to improve and upgrade the level of its delivered services to ensure they are offered in accordance with international standards. Thus, the institution is certified against ISO 9001 and offers accredited Quality testing, Certification and Metrology services whose international recognition opens up opportunities for market access for Made in Rwanda products and services at regional, Africa and international markets.

About TradeMark Africa

TradeMark Africa -TMA, (formerly TradeMark East Africa), is an Aid-for-Trade organisation that was established in 2010, with the aim of growing prosperity through increased trade. TMA operates on a not-for-profit basis and is funded by: Belgium, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Canada, Denmark, the European Union, Finland, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. TMA works closely with regional intergovernmental organisations, including the African Union (AU), the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, the East Africa Community (EAC), the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA), the Southern Africa Customs Union (SACU), national Governments, the private sector and civil society organisations.

The first two strategic periods of TMA (2010-2023) have contributed to substantial gains for   trade and regional integration in East Africa and the Horn of Africa in terms of decreased cargo transit times (reduction of 16.5% on the Northern Corridor from Mombasa to Bujumbura), improved border efficiency (the time to cross targeted one stop border posts has been reduced by an average of 70%), and reduced barriers to trade.  The continental-wide shift and rebrand to TMA was officially launched in West Africa in January 2023, with Ghana being the first country of operations in the region.

TMA's headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya. Operations and offices are in: EAC Secretariat - Arusha, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Somaliland, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. For more information, please visit www.trademarkafrica.com