Africans Should Trade More Among Themselves — Obi Emekekwue
As the Director and Global Head of Communications and Events Management at the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank), Obi Emekekwue is an integral part of the team organising for the inaugural Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF) which took place last year, and the upcoming one taking place in Kigali Rwanda. In this interview, he shares his experience on the challenges of organising the trade fair, lessons learnt and his expectations for the next fair in 2020 among others. Excerpts:
How would you describe the challenge of putting together this inaugural Intra-African Trade Fair?
This is one of the most challenging activities that has been undertaken any financial institution in Africa and you can imagine what it takes to have 42 countries under one roof doing something as extensive as this. It was actually very challenging. However, the critical thing is that we have the support of various partners and with that combination; it was possible to put this together and as effective as it has been. But it has not been an easy process, I must say.
Any lessons learnt towards preparing for the next fair come 2020?
Of course, we have learnt many important lessons. Turnout has been encouraging and the support overall has been very impressive. We also know that putting something like this together requires that you start early, for very effective coordination and making use of agencies that have the capacity to actually manage an event as big as this. These are some of the key lessons coming out of this.
Are you expecting more participation come 2020 when the next fair would be held?
Definitely. We are expecting more people to attend as exhibitors or visitors. This is the first and initially, people were a bit sceptical that the fair would happen. So, a lot of people were reticent in getting involved. But now that we have done it and people have seen that it is possible, I believe that the next time around, it would even be grander than this.
Have you started preparations for the next fair? Do you have a host yet?
We have received bids for hosting rights for the next fair and we are hoping that after a review, an announcement will made maybe before the end of this fair or shortly thereafter. But we expect to get a host soonest and when that is done, preparations will get underway.
The trade fair has been, so far, so good. What is your message to exhibitors and sponsors?
We just have to say thank you to the sponsors. Without them, the fair would not have been possible because the cost of this is humongous and no single institution can bear that cost alone. So, the support of the sponsors made this fair possible. Of course, there would not be a fair without exhibitors and we say a big thank you to the exhibitors for taking the time to be here and having the faith in the Bank that this is going to come through for which they decided to be part of this fair. We thank everybody including the visitors and the public for coming to see the exhibitions.
Kelechi Deca
Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry.