Trade and Industry on Outward Trade and Investment Mission

Award winning EC businesswoman on a trade mission to Ghana

 Ms Sandiswa Qayi, the Managing Director of the award-winning East London-based Eastern Cape manufacturing company, AET Africa will be travelling to Ghana to explore trade opportunities in order to find a market for her energy efficiency products. Qayi, whose company scooped the New and Innovative Business Award at the popular annual BBQ Awards at the weekend, is one of about 30 businesspeople who will be participating in the Outward Trade and Investment Mission to the Ghanaian capital, Accra from 24-30 March 2019. 

The mission is organised and funded by the Department of Trade and Industry (the dti) with the aim of assisting the South African companies find an export market for their products. The mission will comprise of a trade and investment seminar, business-to-business meetings and site visits AET manufactures high quality energy efficiency and clean technology products using dip molding process, as well as woven and non-woven textiles.

“My objective for going to Ghana is to secure a market there for our energy efficiency products and possible investments and strategic partnerships to penetrate the Ghanaian market. It is a new territory for us. Therefore, I need to work with local companies and government to bring our technologies into their market,” says Qayi.

Her products are a Hotspot geyser sleeve, which she launched in October last year, as well as a Heat Raider and filter bags for manufacturing companies.

“Hotspot is a product that can be retrofitted on any conventional geyser ensuring 27% energy saving, guaranteeing faster hot water. It harvests heat from the cooling system. The Heat Raider is an innovation that captures wasted heat from a cold storage, feeding the heat into a geyser. We have learnt that Ghana is also looking for energy efficiency products and our innovations are suitable for the African market,” says Qayi

She says the Ghana mission would not have come at a more opportune time as her company is in the process of setting up a production line for the Heat Raider at its factory in Dimbaza. The outcome of international missions is for companies to secure orders and return home to increase their production in order to service the orders. In this way, they will be able to create employment opportunities and increase their contribution to the country’s economy and export basket. 

AET is currently employing 15 people but is in the process of taking 15 interns as they add production line to manufacture woven and non-woven shopping bags from recycled plastics for packaging of their Hotspot sleeves.

The Managing Director of AET Africa, Ms Sandiswa Qayi seen here with the Eastern Cape’s MEC for Finance, Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism at the launch of their Dimbaza factory last year.

Enquiries:
Sidwell Medupe-Departmental Spokesperson
Tel: 012 394 1650
Cell: 079 492 1774
E-mail: MSMedupe@thedti.gov.za

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