ENTREPRENEURS in Urambo District, Tabora Region have been urged to acquire the Tanzania Bureau of Standard (TBS) quality standard mark which is crucial in enhancing the value of their goods to penetrate regional and global markets.
The TBS marketing officer, Rhoda Mayugu said here over the weekend that officials from the standard watchdog imparted knowledge to entrepreneurs on procedures to verify products quality before being granted standard mark.
She said the training also focused on empowering and creating awareness to entrepreneurs and other groups of people on TBS functions and new obligations transferred from former Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA).
“The training was an opportunity to inform entrepreneurs and other groups of people on amendment of the law made last year where some obligations particularly pertaining to quality and safety of cosmetics transferred to TBS from the former Tanzania Food and Drugs Authority (TFDA),” she said.
During the training, TBS trained some 920 secondary school students, 978 primary school students, 400 people and 45 entrepreneurs. During the training, Ms Mayugu said TBS officials discovered that most of the entrepreneurs and other groups of people lacked knowledge and awareness of the procedures needed to acquire quality standard mark.
She said entrepreneurs admitted lacking knowledge on where to go and start the process of acquiring the standard mark. “Entrepreneurs are encouraged to use the opportunity given by the government to acquire quality standard mark that will help them penetrate both regional and global markets.”
She said for an entrepreneur to obtain the quality standard mark has to bring an introductory letter from the Small Industries Development Organisation (SIDO) and from there TBS certification process starts immediately.
TBS has encouraged entrepreneurs to take advantage of the government’s free products certification services to boost their value that would ultimately penetrate wider market.
“Some of the opportunities offered by the TBS is to verify products quality freely for three years, thus giving entrepreneurs chance to penetrate regional and global market,” she added.
On their part, entrepreneurs and other people commended the TBS initiative of reaching them their places and training them on how to acquire quality standard mark as well as resolving various challenges concerning quality marks.
