THE PERFORMANCE OF MARKETING AGENTS IN CHIBUKU INCLUSIVE VALUE CHAIN IN BEIRA, MOZAMBIQUE BY FERNANDO FERREIRA ALVES

THE PERFORMANCE OF MARKETING AGENTS IN CHIBUKU INCLUSIVE VALUE CHAIN IN BEIRA, MOZAMBIQUE BY FERNANDO FERREIRA ALVES

FERNANDO FERREIRA ALVES

The study was aimed at building and driving actual and potential Chibuku beer marketing agents
towards an inclusive value chain, for performance and income improvement and lifting them from
low livelihoods. The purpose was to include the marketing agents in the market at more beneficial
terms, while supplying value for the lowest cost of the beverage. This was combined with an
improvement of business standards, conceived on the leadership of a formal brewer, for quality
and sustainability of production instead of the low value quality from small informal home opaque
beer producers. The objective was to link stakeholders to the agents and the collaboration and
linking them to the market. Besides discussing the challenges that the marketing agents faced in
the Chibuku value chain, the study also considered the importance of training for the performance
of the agents. The research design that guided the research problem comprised of transforming
qualitative arguments into variables to create quantitative data. The population for this research
was made up of Chibuku marketing agents, Cervejas de Moçambique (Mozambique Brewer)
management staff representatives and the Ministries of Trade, Labour and Finance officials. The
sampling technique was convenient for the agents, those that were available at the business centres
at the time of data collection were interviewed. The researcher used purposive sampling to access
participants with relevant knowledge and experience for the Cervejas de Moçambique (CDM) and
different Ministries. Findings from the study revealed that there was management support from
suppliers, Ministries of Labour, Finance and Trade to enhance the performance of marketing
agents’ in Chibuku inclusive value chain that was important for inclusion in the value chain, as
well as collaboration between marketing agents and supplier. This collaboration was significant as
it helped the agents to perform better and overcome challenges faced in the business. The
challenges were also minimized through management training. The study also found that
management training provided by the brewer to marketing agents helped them run the business
more efficiently and perform better in the Chibuku inclusive value chain. The major
recommendation was that management support should be delivered during training in the working
environment as an on-the-job training during the acquisition of abilities and knowledge needed to
work in the business setting

ZOU

2024