Title of the action:

Provision of Machinery and Support for the Development of SMEs Footwear Clusters in Burundi, Eritrea, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia

Location(s) of the action: -

Burundi, Eritrea, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia 

Total duration of the action

36 months

Amount of the Project

US$ 400,000

Objectives of the action

Project Goal(s)

Contribute to the development of Incubation and Clustering Service Centers in selected COMESA Member States.

Specific Objectives of the intervention are to:

·         Improve SMEs accessibility to suitable machinery and equipment;

·         Enhance SMEs labor productivity from 4.6 pairs to 8 pairs per day by 2017;

·         Promote joint production by SMEs in order to meet minimum order quantities of institutional Private and Public Sectors.

Target group(s)[1]

250 SMEs who are involved in the production of footwear and leather products operating in open markets in Burundi, Eritrea, Kenya, Uganda and Zambia, which have been organized into Clusters. 

Final beneficiaries[2]

·         SMEs

·         The National economies of target countries

Estimated results

·         Increased labor productivity from 4.6 pairs to 8 pairs per person;

·         A rise in total footwear output of the 250 SMEs from 1,150,000 to 5,600,000 pairs per annum in three years;

·         Growth in total revenue of the targeted SMEs from €17 million to €105 million after 3 years;

·         3,125 jobs created after three years from the current figure of 1,250 jobs