ARUSHA, November 30, 2023– Preparations for the 23rd Edition of the East African Community [EAC] Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises [MSMEs] Trade Fair, popularly known as the Jua Kali/Nguvu Kazi Exhibition, are in high gear.
The 23rd edition of the annual EAC MSMEs Trade Fair, which will be held under the theme “Connecting East African MSMEs to enhance Intra EAC Trade”, is expected to attract more than 1,000 artisans from all the seven EAC Partner States.
The exhibition will run from December 5-15, 2023 at the Cercle Hyppique Grounds in Bujumbura, Burundi.
The main objective of the Trade Fair is to contribute towards the realisation of the region’s development goals and aspirations by lending support to this budding sector of the economy, which needs public patronage and Government support to make it sustainable.
The Trade Fairs further create considerable impact on the image of the sector, which is today seen as the panacea to the daunting question of unemployment and poverty alleviation in the region.
The 23rd edition of the EAC MSMEs Trade Fair will also feature a daily symposium aimed at enhancing awareness on and the capacity of MSMEs. The symposia will address matters such as opportunities for MSMEs in the region and under the AfCFTA, importance of Trade Associations in Partner States, tackling Non-Tariff Barriers [NTBs] and requirements for formalising business in EAC.
Other topics to be discussed at the symposia include acquiring the Standards Mark in EAC, benefits of Value Addition and Adaptation to Appropriate Technology for MSMEs in region, and environment and food security in the EAC.
The 1st EAC MSMEs Trade Fair was held in Arusha, Tanzania in November 1999 during the historic signing of the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC.
Subsequent to the success of the Arusha exhibition, the EAC Heads of State directed that the Exhibition be held annually on rotational basis among the Partner States so as to enhance and revamp the socio-economic integration of the people of East Africa.
https://thecooperator.news/buddu-cbs-powesa-trade-fair-attracts-over-600-exhibitors/
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