Business

Market information database falicity launched in Mwanza

Small and Medium Enterprise Competitiveness Facility (SCF) Business Manager -Lake Zone, Ms Djaluo Franco, shows to a producer from the Lake Zone on the best way to brand their products to attract buyers, shortly after the launch of Point of Sale (POS) database in Mwanza on Tuesday. (Photo by a Correspondent)

ENTREPRENEURS who process food and non-alcoholic beverages in the Lake Zone, are expected to benefit more by increasing sales, after the launch of Small and Medium enterprise Competitiveness Facility (SCF) a Point of Sales (POS) database in Mwanza on Tuesday.

Speaking during the launch here, SCF Project Director, Mr Casmir Makoye, said his organisation decided to take the service down to entrepreneurs to regions where food items come from, before they are taken to large local markets or neighbouring countries.

He said the database would help Lake Zone entrepreneurs to reach larger markets locally and beyond. Equipped with important and well researched market information for Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar markets Mr Makoye said POS will help entrepreneurs to increase their sales through identification  and appropriate distribution channels based on market segments.

He said the product is well designed to meet the needs of targeted small and medium entrepreneurs who process and sell food products. According to Mr Makoye, POS database is a system that has taken all necessary food products outlets in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.

He said in coming up with the POS database, SCF managed to survey 14,904 market outlets in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, touching on 19 major food categories. Explaining on how the database will be of great help to entrepreneurs, SCF Business Manager, Franco Jaluo Franco, said, "Using POS database, a food processor will be able to decide on the market he/she wants to take his/her product depending on the level of his/her production.

"The database will show a producer where there are few distributors of a similar product but the market demand for his/her product is high. "POS will help a processor to design his distribution channels. This means that he will be able to decide which market to take his products.

"Using the results of this POS database will help the processor or distributor to know what kind of food products are not in the market but have higher demand. This can even allow a processor to do product deviation.