Business updates

GS1(MAURITIUS) LTD has trained 30 SMEs based in Rodrigues to use GS1 Barcodes to upgrade their products and gain easier market access.

For its Silver Jubilee celebration, GS1 Mauritius pursues its close collaboration with the Government to increase the adoption and implementation of GS1 Barcodes, to further contribute to the economic development of Mauritius and Rodrigues.

This 2-day training follows the Memorandum of Understanding signed in May this year with SME Mauritius Ltd to extend their previous collaboration to also support Rodriguan MSMEs by providing them financial assistance to acquire GS1 Barcodes to access new markets.

It is worth mentioning that some 120 Mauritian MSMEs have already benefitted from such schemes and that the training delivered over 2 days in Rodrigues is a première, whereby 30 Rodriguan MSMEs have successfully followed the training, including officers from SME Mauritius Ltd based in Rodrigues as well as those from Rodrigues Trading and Marketing Co Ltd.

The training delivered in Creole ensured that the participants acquired the working knowledge to implement their barcodes correctly. They understood how to respect the specifications of this international standard to create and print their barcode and thus avoid any possible retailer rejection of their products.
Today, some 30 MSMEs have received two certificates: their Membership Certificate and Training Attendance Certificate. The GS1(MAURIITUS) LTD Membership Certificate is the proof that they are the unique authorised licensee of the GS1 Barcodes, also enabling supermarkets and authorities to be aware of fraudulent use of GS1 Barcodes.
Furthermore, by acquiring GS1 Barcodes under this scheme, Rodriguan MSMEs will not only upgrade their products and gain easier access to new markets, but they will reap numerous benefits.

With GS1 Barcodes, MSMEs will gain efficiency whilst enjoying lower costs through inventory management and will be able to export without any modification since GS1 Barcodes are internationally recognised standards. These GS1 Barcodes and standards not only enable implementing product traceability solutions, but their uniqueness further enables the detection of counterfeited products, thus contributing tremendously to gaining consumer confidence.

By adopting GS1 Barcodes and standards, MSMEs will further gain international visibility through GS1 GEPIR and GS1 Cloud. GS1 GEPIR (Global Electronic Party Information Registry) is a unique, internet-based service that gives anyone access to basic contact information for companies that are members of GS1 whilst GS1 Cloud is the largest source of trusted product information in the world.

With the signature of this MoU, both organisations who firmly believes in the potential of Rodriguan MSMEs are confident that the latter will largely benefit from this scheme and training to access new markets easier and reach new heights.