55 countries target over $40bn trade deals at IATF2020 –Oramah
Organisers of the 2nd Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2020), said they are expecting to surpass the volume of deals recorded at the inaugural trade fair held in Cairo in 2018 when the event holds in Kigali , Rwanda next year.
To achieve this target, they are working to attract about 10,000 participants including businessmen to interface and generate intra-African trade and investment deals in excess of $40 billion
According to Prof. Benedict Oramah, President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), who spoke on Saturday at the formal launch of IATF2020 during the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Business Forum 2019 held on the sidelines of the 12th Extraordinary Summit of African Union (AU) Heads of State in Niamey the trade fair, scheduled for Kigali, Rwanda, from September, 1-7, 2020, would attract more than 1,100 exhibitors from over 55 countries.
“Working with our esteemed partners, we will exceed the achievements of 2018,” he said, describing IATF2018 as a resounding success, not in the colourful displays exhibited, but in the showcasing of diversity of tradable goods by about 1,100 exhibitors from 45 countries and in the execution of deals worth about $32 billion.
That trade fair resulted in a Nigerian technology company winning a $100-million contract to provide technology-based solutions to the South Sudanese government; an Egyptian company winning contracts in many African countries to supply and install energy generation and distribution equipment worth close to $1 billion; Egyptian and Tunisian companies signing a $50-million partnership deal to create a joint venture for assembling home appliances; and the signing of a $3-billion energy generation project between an Egyptian company and an African government, the largest-ever intra-African project executed exclusively by African entities, including financial institutions, he noted.
“The momentum created by the maiden IATF and the historic launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), will sustain the growth of cross-border trade and investments,” Oramah affirmed.
Also speaking, Amb. Albert Muchanga, the AU Commissioner for Trade and Industry, said that the IATF was one of a set of activities planned by the African Union Commission to support implementation of the AfCFTA. The others include the African Trade Observatory, a portal for real-time information on business opportunities.
According to Soraya Hakuziyaremye, Minister of Trade and Industry of Rwanda, it was important for the African private sector to take advantage of IATF2020 to present and exchange their products and for entrepreneurs to use it to boost their visibility.
The 2nd Intra-Africa Trade Fair (IATF2020), which is expected to attract more than 1,100 exhibitors from 55 countries will provide a platform for sharing trade, investment and market information. It will enable buyers and sellers, investors and countries to meet, discuss and conclude business deals as well as provide an opportunity for exhibitors to showcase their goods and services and to engage in business-to-business exchanges.
The key features include an IATF2020 Conference, a Creative Africa initiative, which will showcase Africa’s creative economy, Country Days dedicated to specific African countries, and an interactive online Virtual Trade Fair.
