Africa-Press – Eswatini. Over 18 000 jobs were created through foreign direct investment (FDIs) and domestic investments between 2018 and 2023.
This was disclosed by Eswatini Investment Promotion Authority (EIPA) Chief Executive Officer Sibani Mngomezulu.
The authority presented some of their key achievements and their focus area in 2024 and beyond to Cabinet.
Mngomezulu said EIPA could confirm that there were a number of investments in the pipeline, which are reaching launch stage in the coming months.
“We are not able to divulge details of these projects at this stage due to the fact that the investors have not yet given the go ahead for specific details to be released into the public domain,” he said.
He said as EIPA they needed to respect their internal processes in this regard.
Listing other achievements, he said technical assistance was obtained to ensure greater effectiveness on both investment promotions regarding the EIPA strategy (2020-2024) for several things including SDG mainstreaming for investment promotion, investment facilitation and retention, trade promotion, e-commerce, artificial intelligence and ChatGPT.
He said they had also obtained technical assistance on data analytics, global market potential, consumer trends in international markets, export readiness for SMEs and AGOA market access for Eswatini businesses.
Mngomezulu said the organisation has also facilitated participation for local businesses in international trade expos.
He said last year, over 15 traders in the food and beverages and creative sectors were sent to Taiwan to showcase their goods and market themselves to Taiwanese buyers.
“EIPA and other local companies also participated in the 2023 Zambia and Zimbabwe International Trade Fairs, winning second prize in the International Exhibitor segment. In 2022 we participated in the Dubai Expo 2020, where we transported goods and showcased them to the international market, securing sales for products for local businesses,” he said.
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Mngomezulu said EIPA was also involved in the development of the National Action Programme on Investment (NAPI) for Eswatini and was a key stakeholder in the launch of the Eswatini SDG Investor Roadmap.
He said more than 260 people were trained on export readiness for US, European and Asian markets.
Mngomezulu said new factory shells were constructed, one more purchased and renovations carried out in various other shells.
“The construction of factory shells in rural areas within Eswatini has benefitted surrounding communities creating jobs and stimulating economic activity; an outcome of government’s decentralisation model,” he said.
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