Tailors Association of Malawi (TAM) has indicated a need for all tailors in the country to form groups and work as a team if they are to improve business and access bigger markets.
Speaking at Mitole Primary School in Chikhwawa district where the association held a public meeting with some stakeholders from the district as well as tailors drawn from the district, TAM president Esther Mponya, said the formation of tailors association groups will complement government’s efforts to ensure that tailors are coordinated in the way they transact their businesses.
Said Mponya: “We came here in Chikhwawa so that we could be able to form a branch as we have done in other districts. You might be aware that the president is advocating for various individuals who ply different businesses to form associations because through that you work as a team, you gain trust and that you are able to improve on your business.
“Being in an association helps as we could be able to win big businesses from various companies in the country unlike clinging to operating as individuals where we could not always be trusted with loans at the same time our lives would not improve.”
She further called on all tailors in the district and beyond to wake up from their slumber and improve on their businesses adding that teamwork if achieved always brings positive results.
“As tailors, we have an opportunity where we could be able to do the good job that can even be exported instead of just waiting for other countries to send us their stuff,” she said.
The TAM president however called on some tailors who do not conform to their customers’ demands to change for the better saying time has come when tailors should be able to give to their customers the best service possible.
She added that government through Malawi Enterprises Development Fund (MEDEF) entrusted them by giving them state of the art machines as well as allocating them land in Limbe through Blantyre City Council where the association intends to construct its offices as well as a training school in tailoring.
Chikhwawa Tailors Association chairperson Humphrey Lusangadzi commended TAM for engaging them indicating their coming as beneficial as it would create hardworking spirit among them and aim at teamwork than focusing on small businesses.
He however pointed out that capital is a challenge among most tailors in the district but hoped that the coming in of the association will likely improve on the same.
“Let me urge my fellow tailors to work hard because this is our profession which God entrusted us to serve the people with. I should also encourage them to come and join the association because through that we will be able to improve on expertise at the same time customer service. I should also ask government’s support through some structures within it to assist us whenever there is a need,” he said.
On his part, Enock Palitu from the Ministry of Trade and Industry urged the tailors in the district to work as a team saying through such groups as associations, they would gain trust from other stakeholders including government.
He said groups are one way of improving the standards of their services to the customers.
He also claimed that government is committed to work with them in ensuring that their businesses improve.
TAM’s overall objectives include promotion of small scale tailoring businesses among its members across the country and addressing issues pertaining to industrialization in order to come up with quality prescribed standards and practices prevalent in the tailoring industries globally.
