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Inter African Trafe Fair (IATF2020) Postponed to 2021     |     D’banj to Partner with IATF2020 to Promote African Trade     |     Over $40 billion in Trade Deals, Participants From 55 Countries Expected at Intra African Trade Fair 2020 in Kigali     |    
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Inter African Trafe Fair (IATF2020) Postponed to 2021

April 29, 2020

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the African Union (AU) and the Government of Rwanda have decided to postpone by one year the second Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2020) initially set to take place from 1 to 7 September 2020 in Kigali, Rwanda.

Afreximbank President Prof. Benedict Oramah
Afreximbank President Prof. Benedict Oramah

This decision was endorsed by the IATF2020 Advisory Council during its sixth meeting held virtually on 26 April 2020, after careful assessment of the situation.

Organised by Afreximbank in collaboration with the AU, the second IATF will still be hosted by the Government of Rwanda and is now scheduled to take place from 6 to 12 September 2021 in Kigali. It will now be dubbed IATF2021.

Afreximbank President Prof. Benedict Oramah said that the continuing COVID-19 pandemic situation was not conducive to holding such an important pan African event which was initially scheduled to take place in just 4 months.

Read also : Afreximbank Provides $3-Billion Facility to Cushion Impact of COVID-19

“The COVID-19 pandemic has forced Governments, corporations and individuals to take unprecedented measures to ensure public safety,” he said. “It is our responsibility to comply with these measures to protect our host country and ensure the health and safety of all delegates, exhibitors and participants who have confirmed or expressed interest in taking part in the second edition of IATF.”

Stressing the need to enable participants to fully benefit from the opportunities offered by the trade fair, Amb. Albert Muchanga, Commissioner for Trade and Industry of the African Union said that the postponement would allow stakeholders to focus on the urgent collective task of responding to the pandemic.

Read also : Afreximbank to Promote Factoring for SME Financing in East Africa

“We are facing an unprecedented health crisis. This is the time to join efforts to also mitigate the impact of the pandemic on African economies. We have agreed that the second IATF needed to take place in a more favourable context to enable African countries and companies to take full advantage of the Trade Fair, which will now become an element of their recovery strategy,” said Amb. Muchanga.

Soraya Hakuziyaremye, Minister of Trade and Industry of Rwanda reiterated the commitment of the government of Rwanda to the success of the trade fair.

“The reality we are confronted with today as we fight the spread of Covid-19 has prompted us to look at various factors which will undoubtedly impact African businesses and investors this year. In partnership with Afreximbank and the AU Commission, Rwanda is looking forward to the second IATF in 2021 to boost intra African trade, which is more than ever crucial to the development of our continent,” Hon. Hakuziyaremye said.

Read also : Afreximbank Launches N300 Billion Naira Medium-Term Note Programme

Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, IATF Advisory Council Chairman and former President of Nigeria said: “We offer sincere condolences to the families, friends and colleagues of all those who have lost their lives because of the coronavirus. We also wish all those who have been affected by the virus speedy recovery. We hope that this pandemic will soon be overcome to enable normal businesses to resume and underpin the forthcoming Trade Fair.”

The Advisory Council also decided to postpone the third edition of IATF from 2022 to 2023 to be in line with the two-year intervals between IATF events.

 

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

D’banj to Partner with IATF2020 to Promote African Trade

November 27, 2019
IATF2020

Nigeria’s multi-talented musical sensation Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo popularly known as D’banj has said that he will work in partnership with African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and other institutions involved in the organizing of the second Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2020) scheduled to take place in Kigali in September 2020.

Nigeria’s multi-talented musical sensation Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo
Nigeria’s multi-talented musical sensation Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo

D’banj, who made this known during a courtesy visit to Afreximbank’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt was a key figure in the inaugural Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2018) held in Cairo in December 2018 where his panel presentation and special musical performance were among the major highlights. He commended the role of the IATF in opening up opportunities for businesses to trade across borders in Africa.

Read also : Afreximbank Calls for Open Account Terms for Achievement of AfCFTA Goals

The artist announced that he had established a creative talent portal called CREAM PLATFORM, which was helping to discover young creative minds by letting them upload their ideas by simply dialing a USSD code on a mobile phone.

The CREAM PLATFORM, which currently had 4.6 million subscribers, had led to the discovery of hundreds of talents from the music category alone, with tens of music videos and millions of Naira given out to winners, he explained.

D’banj, a musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, entrepreneur and television personality, has won a host of music awards, including Best African Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2007, Artist of the Year at the MTV Africa Music Awards 2009, Best International Act: Africa at the 2011 BET Awards, and Best-selling African Artist at the 2014 World Music Awards, Evolution award at the 2015 MTV Africa Music awards.

Read also : African Bankers Attend Afreximbank Trade Finance Seminar in Durban

IATF2020, which is being organised by Afreximbank, in collaboration with the African Union, and hosted by the government of Rwanda, will take place from 1 to 7 September 2020. It is expected to attract over 1,000 exhibitors and 5,000 buyers and to generate over $40 billion in business deals.

 

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

Over $40 billion in Trade Deals, Participants From 55 Countries Expected at Intra African Trade Fair 2020 in Kigali

July 11, 2019
African Trade

Organizers of the Second Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2020) have promised that it will surpass the achievements of the inaugural trade fair held in Cairo in 2018 by attracting 10,000 participants and generating intra-African trade and investment deals worth more than $40 billion. This was made known by Prof. Benedict Oramah, President of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).

Prof. Oramah was speaking 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, Niger.

He told guests that the trade fair, scheduled for Kigali from 1 to 7 September 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.

African Trade
 

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,” he 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 the implementation of the AfCFTA. The others included the African Trade Observatory, a portal for real-time information on business opportunities.

Soraya Hakuziyaremye, Minister of Trade and Industry of Rwanda, said that 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 Second Intra-Africa Trade Fair (IATF2020), which will take place in Kigali from 1-7 September 2020, is expected to attract more than 1,100 exhibitors from 55 countries and to 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.

IATF2020 is being organized by Afreximbank, in collaboration with the African Union, and is hosted by the Government of Rwanda. The event partners are the African Development Bank, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa represented by the Africa Trade Policy Centre; Afrochampions Initiative; Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry; World Trade Centre Miami; Export Development Authority of Egypt; and International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation.

 

 

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.

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