The Quality Infrastructure of Ethiopia is rapidly improving. On Wednesday, 25th of February, 2009, representatives of the German accreditation body, TGA, presented representatives of the Ethiopian Government, and the Quality and Standards Authority of Ethiopia – Cert (QSAE-Cert) with accreditation so that this Ethiopian body can now certify Ethiopian companies in ISO 9001 Quality Management Systems.
The implications of this are enormous. In moving the claim “Made in Ethiopia” towards an internationally recognized sign of quality, Ethiopian producers must ensure that their systems are of high quality. Becoming certified in ISO 9001 standards is one such way to demonstrate this. Previously, Ethiopian companies that wished to attain this certification had to spend large sums of money to bring in international consultants and assessors, not to mention be flexible to their tight time schedules. Recognizing this as a major obstruction to the path of certification, the Engineering Capacity Building Program (ecbp) worked with QSAE and the international accreditation body, TGA, in order to accredit a new body within QSAE: QSAE-Cert. With QSAE-Cert now able to certify companies in this prestigious category, Ethiopian companies can save money and time in attaining ISO 9001 certifications.
Signifying the caliber of this achievement, H.E. Juneydi Sado, Minister of Science and Technology was on hand to receive the certification from the Director of TGA, Mr. Facklam. Speakers at the presentation ceremony included H.E. Dr. Claas Knoop, German Ambassador to Ethiopia, Ato Mesay Girma, Director General of QSAE, Mr. Ehinger, Director of the Chamber of Skilled Crafts in Germany, Dr. Mebrahtu Meles, Director of ecbp, and Mr. Erik Ruh, Quality Infrastructure Manager of ecbp.
ecbp is an Ethiopian program established under the Ministry of Capacity Building with the support of the German government. It aims to increase the competitiveness of businesses in Ethiopia with a high potential of generating jobs and adding value.