The curtain was drawn on the 1st ever Intra Africa Trade Fair in Cairo as 29,000 visitors came to the fair. The fair which both organisers and exhibitors described as highly successful saw about 1,100 exhibitors comprising both small and large companies.
The fair which has also been described as a movement which will see the next edition holding in Kigali, Rwanda. Speaking at the closing ceremony on the last day of the fair, Chairman and President of Afreximbank Professor Benedict Orama said that the organisers were expecting about 20 countries but 44 turned up. According to him deals wo
rth about $30 billion has been sealed stating that it is gratifying to note that the African Union which is co-organisers of the fair has been transformed from being merely a political body to an economic engine of the African continent.
He said the 2020 edition of the fair that will be held in Kigali will be much larger and will attract more participation from within and outside the continent. He said that it was encouraging to find that there were more young exhibitors and women at the fair which he said gives great hope to Africa.
In his own closing remarks, former President Olusegun Obasanjo called on Africans to work together to defeat poverty instead of continuing to blame slave trade, colonialism for the lots of Africa. He said with “this fair, we are on the right path. Let us come to the end of blame game. Put the blame on slave trade, colonialism behind us. Let us work and make Africa economies competitive. This we can do by working together so that we can swim together. There is no pride in poverty, but there is strength in economic power. The first Intra Africa Trade Fair has enabled over 1000 exhibitors to showcase their products, provided a stage for investors to network.
