Africa-Press – Eswatini. The Eswatini International Trade Fair (EITF) 2023 seems to have brought a massive breakthrough for local business people after being hooked up with their Taiwanese counterparts.
Local small businesses will after the Trade Fair be able to source their products straight from Taiwan at minimal costs.
Some Emaswati made use of the business opportunities that were availed by the Taiwanese government at the Trade Fair, as a majority of Emaswati constantly visited the Taiwanese pavillion, which showcased an array of products tailored for local industries in three different categories; information technology, lifestyle and food as well as industrial parts.
Wanda Masimula, employed by the Embassy of Taiwan, was hard at work trying to allocate time to each and every person who visited the Illinos Enterprises stand, which specialises in materials handling tools that carry heavy objects like cement.
He said the materials were made of aluminium and were light when you try to lift them up. He said the good thing about their products was that they last long. He said most of their stock was finished as people showed much interest in them. He said it would be easy now for Emaswati to purchase products straight from Taiwan as close ties had already been made.
“I appreciate locals for the support they gave us since the beginning of the trade fair. As you can see, we are now left with a few handling tools, and I am sure they would be finished by Sunday,” he said.
Catherine Sithole displayed gadgets like laptops, screens and phones at the same pavillion. She said the government of Taiwan had been bringing different companies to showcase their products at the trade fair. She said the initiative had empowered many business people, as some were now able to go straight to Taiwan to purchase the products and start businesses in the country.
“We give advice on how to go about when you want to get to Taiwan to get stock. When buying in bulk you spend less and make huge profits because our products are strong and last long,” she said.
Emaswati also showed interest in a Majestea, invented from the name majesty. This is tea made from leaves of a tree called mulberry. According to Madhu Ramkolowan, the tea was good for people with diabetes, high blood pressure, cholesterol, eye sight problems and also enhance in bedroom activities.
“The support we received was more than we had expected.
“We expect to provide more services to Emaswati as they appreciated our products. We have 25 000 trees in Croydon meant to produce the tea.”
According to the embassy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) in Eswatini, TAITRA entrusted by the ministry of foreign affairs of Taiwan facilitated mutual exchange and collaboration between Taiwanese and Eswatini enterprises throughout the 10-day event.
“This annual expo has been a testament to Taiwan’s commitment, featuring numerous successful trade missions, participation of the trade fair and training programmes for Eswatini over the years.
Besides providing local enterprises with a unique opportunity to engage with Taiwanese delegates in person and explore potential business partnerships, it serves as a significant occasion to foster stronger trade ties between Eswatini and Taiwan,” the embassy said in a statement.
The embassy added that Eswatini was Taiwan’s 25th trade partner in Africa in 2022, with a trade value of E289 million (US$16.1m), which included an export value of E183.6 million (US$10.2m) and an import value of E100.8 million (US$5.9m).
This represented a 112 per cent in total trade value from 2017 when the two countries signed an Economic Cooperation Agreement (ECA). According to the embassy ECA helped to boost trade between Taiwan and Eswatini, particularly in the areas of electronics, machinery and textiles.
The 18 TAIWANES enterprises showcasING at EITF:
1. DataForce Pro
2. Illinois Enterprises Co.
3. Lion Cat International Co.
4. M&W Global Material Handling Inc
5. Maxcomm Co. LTD
6. Victoria Nature Co. LTD
7. Asustek Computer Incorporation
8. Avermedia Technologies, Inc
9. Benq Corporation
10. Benq Materials Corp.
11. Chiayo Electronics Co. LTD
12. Sunjuice Holdings Co. LTD
13. Garmin Corporation
14. Hurng Fur Foods Factory Co. LTD
15. In-Trust Technology Co. LTD
16. Max Wish International Co. LTD
17. Singtex Industrial Co. LTD
18. Speedtech Energy Co. LTD
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