About us
Africa's economic development is impeded by its weak integration into the world economy. Its share in global trade is only about 3 percent, whereas intra-African trade represents as little as 0.5 percent of total world trade. Our goal is to jointly strengthen Africa's role as an exporter on the international market and to increase local value creation so that additional jobs can be created. We achieve this goal by improving product quality and strengthening the national quality infrastructure. To this end, we develop partnerships with European and African companies, associations and the quality infrastructure.
The quality infrastructure includes all actors involved in standardisation, metrology, accreditation and conformity assessment services (inspection, testing and certification of products and systems). A well-developed quality infrastructure is a prerequisite for local companies to participate in international trade: without it, the quality and safety of their products cannot be demonstrated.
We offer support in cases where European companies want to import from Africa, but product quality poses a challenge. Together with European companies or associations, we develop and implement projects to overcome these barriers. To find out more about the nature of these projects, have a look at our range of services or our current Projects .
Our projects support African companies in accessing new markets. These new export opportunities enable them to increase their production and achieve higher prices for their products, which in turn can lead to an increase in wages. Environmental and social standards, which are in high demand by international importers, furthermore have positive effects on working conditions and the protection of natural resources.
Win-Win Situation
We combine development cooperation with the interests of the private sector. European and African companies benefit equally from our work.
European companies benefit from…
- Access to certified, high-quality products from Africa
- Long-term supplier relationships with African companies
- A wider range of quality assurance services at production sites in African countries
African companies benefit from…
- Access to international markets
- Training on quality requirements and management
- Improved access to calibration, testing and certification services
Secretariat
Our secretariat is jointly managed by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the National Metrology Institute of Germany (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, PTB). They act on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung, BMZ). Together, they support companies and associations in the development and implementation of projects, as well as through consulting and networking.
The Alliance is part of the BMZ Special Initiative "Decent Work for a Just Transition", which also operates under the name Invest for Jobs, and the Quality Infrastructure Fund.
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