Bosco Hitimana

Rwanda's textile factory Utexrwa announced it is switching to production of insecticide treated malaria bed nets for both local and foreign markets. The factory's Managing Director Mr. Rajendran Ranganathan told East African Business Week that it has an annual potential to produce about 12 million bed nets.

"Malaria bed nets have a huge demand in Africa," said Rajendran.

He said the estimated demand on the continent in 2010 is in the range of around 300 million but less than 30 million nets are produced annually.

For the beginning, the factory has secured over US$400,000 from Heineken to produce 70,000 bed nets for the Rwandan population. Meanwhile Rwanda requires about 4 million bed nets.

"Since this money is given to us at once, we are using it to establish the capacity."

Heineken contracted Utexrwa to produce the bed nets as part of its corporate social responsibility in Rwanda. Rajendran said that the initial tests showed that the factory has the desired quality of the impregnated bed nets and it is now arranging for bigger commercial production.