The West Africa Quality System Programme (WAQSP), funded by the EU and implemented by UNIDO, initiated a national workshop to build capacity of Benin's private sector companies in the quality matter. This workshop, scheduled from August 7 - August 9, 2019, took place at the headquarters of the National Council of Employers (NCE) of Benin in Cotonou. The works were officially launched by the representative of the Minister in charge of quality, Mr. Joseph Gabin Degbey.

The private sector companies in Benin are in the spotlight in terms of acquiring approach and how to improve the quality of their products and services. Through this training, these private wealth producers will succeed in strengthening the quality of their economic activities in order to meet the commercial competitiveness and the progressive insertion of the increasingly demanding regional and global market.

At the opening, the representative of the National Council of Employers (NCE) of Benin and the Federation of West African Employers' Association (FWAEA), Mr. Bernard Nadjo, declared that the present training meets a double imperative, "That of periodically reinforcing the skills of quality officers in our various structures and fostering cooperation between all the bodies in charge of quality both in the region and in the world". The training will prepare participants to better secure products and services made available to customers, he added. Mr. Claudi Ferri, Programme Officer at the Delegation of the European Union to Benin, will then say that a substantial effort has been made in Benin to strengthen the capacity of National Quality Infrastructures. "Benin now has a National Quality Policy and it is important that Benin's private sector is involved in this process to support its implementation", he said. The European Union, which is very sensitive to issues of quality and consumer protection, has funded programs to strengthen the capacity of national quality infrastructure systems and quality support in Beninese agro-food companies in the framework of the 10th and 11th European Development Fund (Fed), said Claudi Ferri.

Joseph Gabin Degbey, representing the Minister of Industry and Trade, said that "in the face of growing customer demands for the reliability of the products and services they purchase and the environment, more and more competitive, companies or organizations must now demonstrate their skills by engaging in a quality approach that appears as an essential element to ensure, not only the satisfaction of needs, but also the sustainability of any organization". "The overall objective of this capacity building workshop for private sector companies is to develop and consolidate the quality culture of the Federation of West African Employers' Association (FWAEA) and its members. Specifically, it is a first step to make the Regional Quality Infrastructure (RQI) known to NCE of Benin and its members, raise their expectations in this area and encourage their involvement in the operationalization and the use of the services offered by this device. Then prepare the member companies of NCE of Benin to engage in the quality approach by training quality managers", he concluded.

The work close on Friday, August 9, 2019 with actors from private sector companies in Benin fully equipped to meet the demands of quality in the supply of products and services in the regional and global market.