ITC, WIPO to help brand Zanzibar cloves

Cloves are the main cash crop of of Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous island of Tanzania. In the past 10 years, the industry has suffered from low production due to poor management and low exports. To bring back Zanzibar as the leading exporter of cloves, the United Republic of Tanzania, together with the International Trade Centre (ITC) the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to develop an intellectual property (IP) and branding strategy for Zanzibar cloves.

Formalised on 7 November, the MoU will jointly seek to maximise the value retention of cloves for the benefit of local communities in Zanzibar. It aims to boost the island’s on-going efforts to increase clove production and thereby provide local farmers with potentially higher income.
Aicha Pouye, director of ITC’s Division of Business and Institutional Support, said: “Building the brand perception of Zanzibar cloves is an important step towards getting the island’s economy up and running. It is the most important cash crop for the islanders, and enhancing the status of Zanzibar cloves will have a positive knock-on effect on the rest of the economy.”

To maximise the value of Zanzibar cloves, ITC will provide the branding methodology and training within which IP will be positioned, whilst WIPO will take the lead on developing an IP strategy for Zanzibar cloves. The protection of intellectual property is an important tool in strengthening the trading position of developing countries, but must come hand in hand with a branding strategy to yield real results.

This approach by ITC and WIPO in Zanzibar is part of a wider effort by the two organisations to develop an integrated IP and branding methodology that can serve as a model and be replicated effectively in other countries and other sectors to improve the capacity of enterprises, exporters and farmers. (Photo credit: www.zanzinet.org)

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