You are here » Home » Telling Our Story
Success Story
USAID’s Southern Africa Trade Hub links Botswana furniture entrepreneur with certified-wood source
Regional Partnership Yields Many Benefits
Photo: Southern Africa Global
Competitiveness Hub
Mabeo Furniture workers unloading a
shipment of panga panga wood as it
arrives from the new supplier source in
Mozambique.
“At the end of the day, it is the
quality of the Mabeo design,
high standard for inputs, and our
brand that determines how well
we do in the marketplace. We
need more than a competitive
price to get us in the door,” said
Peter Mabeo, owner of Mabeo
Furniture.
USAID’s Southern Africa Global Competitive Trade Hub first
met Peter Mabeo at the International Contemporary Furniture
Fair (ICFF) in New York in 2006. He was there representing his
company, Mabeo Furniture, which is based in Gaborone,
Botswana, and produces high-end contemporary furniture with
a strategic focus on craftsmanship and the use of sustainable
raw materials.
Since then, the Trade Hub — which helps African
entrepreneurs improve their competitiveness; gain greater
access to global markets; create jobs; and generate economic
development — has sponsored him in numerous shows and
provided various forms of technical assistance in business
management and operations.
When Mabeo wanted to find a consistent supplier of certified
wood from responsibly managed forests, the Trade Hub was
able to link him directly with a supplier of panga panga wood
from Mozambique. This connection has not only helped his
bottom line, but also fits in with his philosophy of obtaining the
highest-quality raw input materials from local sources.
By eliminating third-party sourcing agents, Mabeo estimates
that this new relationship will reduce his wood input costs by an
average of 50 percent.
Mabeo’s unrelenting focus on creating long-term value is one of
the key secrets to his current success. So much so that this
past summer he won the ICFF Editor’s Award for best furniture,
which has come with the opportunity to showcase his product
with top designers in the industry.
“At the end of the day, it is the quality of the Mabeo design, high
standard for inputs, and our brand that determines how well we
do in the marketplace. We need more than a competitive price
to get us in the door,” Mabeo said.
In keeping with his strategy of obtaining raw materials from
sustainable sources, Mabeo envisions a mutually beneficial
partnership with this supplier. By cutting out the middle-man,
and with Mozambique now performing more value-added
functions such as processing and certification, jobs will be
boosted on that end of the supply chain as well.
Print-friendly version of this page (533kb - PDF)
Click here for high-res photo
Back to Top ^
|
RSS Feed for Recent Telling Our Story Updates
