The Forestry Development Authority (FDA) and partner; Liberia’s Solid Wood Species Furniture with Funding from African Private Sector Assistance (FAPA) has launched the first ever Trade Fair to promote Liberian made wood products.
The event which included exhibitions of Liberian made Products from raw solid wood from the Liberian Forest, allows Carpenters to promote their products and encourage Liberian to purchase their owned wood made product, which aimed at another way of growing the Liberian economic.
Speaking at the event, Edward S. Kamara- Project Coordinator of African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Fund for African Private Sector Assistance (FAPA), on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) said the project aims at stimulating the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) based on secondary processing of wood products that will facilitate jobs and wealth creation in Liberia.
Kamara highlighted that the need to promote local businesses in the country and the project is well-aligned with FAPA’s core mandate of supporting private-sector development in Africa, a key strategic priority of the African Development Bank.
On the other hand, Kamara stressed that the main goal of the project is to promote the private sector by scaling up the participation of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) in the secondary wood processing industry to promote inclusive green growth, employment and economic diversification in Liberia.
Managing director of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA), C. Mike Doryen, emphasized the importance of promoting Liberian owned businesses and the need to promote them.
He encouraged Liberians to take charge of purchasing their owned secondary wood products, which will help promote their Liberian owned businesses and enlarge the wood processing industry of Liberia.
Doryen said SMEs are heartbeats of the Liberian economy and by supporting these small entrepreneurs the country prospers. He said at the launched of the First Trade Fair (FTF), is key to assisting Liberia’s SMEs, something he said is the need to unlock productivity, marketability, competitiveness, value-addition to ensure that they become the engines for job creation in the country and they are able to expand their operations beyond the confines of their communities, into the larger society.
He said Liberia has a large green forest, which is capable of growing the Liberian economic with the help of the furniture sectors which hold huge potentials for SMEs in Liberia.
Meanwhile, the launched of the project —”From Vision to Implementation—Buying Liberian own product, Building Liberia”—was held under the auspices of the Forestry Development Authority (FDA) It entailed day long trade fair, where nearly 20 local small Funiture makers and Carpenters Association were represented.
