East African Community (EAC) Regional Quality Awards celebrate excellence in quality standards
The 2nd edition of the East African Community (EAC) Regional Quality Awards was held in Kampala, Uganda.
The EAC Regional Quality Awards are part of a broad effort to promote an embedded quality culture in East African enterprises to ensure business growth while contributing to sustainable development.
The regional awards ceremony featured nominees who emerged as winners from National Quality Award competitions conducted across EAC member states: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
The guest of honour Hon. Mwebesa Francis, Minister of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Republic of Uganda urged EAC member states to be intentional about supporting start-ups and MSMEs as an engine for economic growth and increased employment opportunities especially for the youthful population.
EAC Deputy Secretary General, Customs, Trade and Monetary Affairs Ms Annette Mutaawe Ssemuwemba, the UNBS Executive Director, Eng. James Kasigwa and the Executive Director of the East African Business Council (EABC), Mr. Adrian Njau, Ag. also attended the ceremony.
The awards aim to celebrate excellence in quality, featuring categories such as Company of the Year, Service Company of the Year, and Product of the Year, with recognition given at both the MSME and Large Enterprise (LE) levels.
Organized by the EAC Secretariat in collaboration with the International Trade Centre (ITC) and hosted by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS), the EAC Regional Quality Awards are supported through the second phase of the European Union (EU)-EAC Market Access Upgrade Programme (MARKUP II), funded by the EU.
The winners and runners-up for the EAC Regional Quality Awards 2024 that were held on December 5 are:
EAC Company of the Year – SME
Winner: CAPS Limited – Tanzania
Runner-up: ISHYO Foods- Rwanda
EAC Company of the Year – LE
Winner: Said Salim Bakhresa Company Ltd. – Tanzania
Runner-up: Brookside Dairies Ltd – Kenya
EAC Product of the Year - SME
Winner: PVC insulated non-armoured cable flame retardant & anti-rodent - ASL Wires & Cables – Kenya
Runner-up: ZIMA Pumpkin Extra Virgin Oil - ZIMA Health - Rwanda
EAC Product of the Year - LE
Winner: Dairy Best UHT Milk – BROOKSIDE DAIRIES – Kenya
Runner-up: Bwana Sukari (brown sugar) - Kilombero Sugar Ltd– Tanzania
EAC Service Company of the Year – SME
Winner: CAPS Limited – Tanzania
Runner-up: Izere Services & Trading Co. Ltd - Rwanda
EAC Service Company of the Year – LE
Winner: University of Embu (UoEm) – Kenya
Runner-up: Prime Insurance Limited - Rwanda
About EU-EAC MARKUP II
The European Union (EU)- East African Community (EAC) MARKUP II funded by the EU, aims to enhance economic development in the EAC through sustainable intra-African and EU-Africa trade.
Focused on improving livelihoods, employment, and export competitiveness for MSMEs, the programme supports the development of key export-oriented value chains as well institutional support in the six MARKUP II EAC recipient partner countries. MARKUP II is promoting exports and investment through addressing trade barriers, value addition, quality compliance, trade facilitation and technology transfer.
MARKUP II is implemented by the International Trade Centre in collaboration with the EAC Secretariat and national partners in the recipient countries.
