Trade show returns after two-year break
Source：Monitor - Uganda
From：Taiwan Trade Center, Nairobi
Update Time：2022/05/13
The trade fair is expected to be held in October in Kampala under the theme: “Business recovery by harnessing local sourcing and deepening value chains integration”.
Uganda Manufacturers Association (UMA) has said the International Trade Fair and Exhibition will return this year after a two-year break due to Covid-19 restrictions.
The trade fair was last held in 2020. However, UMA says its return will also be an opportunity to assess member companies, many of which are struggling to shakeoff the impact of Covid-19 and related disruptions.
While addressing journalists in Kampala early this week, Mr Deo Kayemba, the UMA chairman, said the 28th International Trade Fair will mainly focus on promoting locally manufactured goods and services, many of which have seen tremendous growth over the years in terms of quantity and quality.
The trade fair is expected to be held in October in Kampala under the theme: “Business recovery by harnessing local sourcing and deepening value chains integration”. It is one of the biggest calendar events in which manufacturers showcase their goods and services to more than 300,000 people from within and beyond Uganda who visit the UMA show ground in Lugogo, Kampala .
A number of companies have leveraged on the trade fair over the years to enhance their product category graduating from startups to large companies.
Mr Daniel Birungi, the UMA executive director, said the theme seeks to cast a spotlight on industrialists, who, even as they have been impacted by Covid-19, have exhibited resilience and progressive recovery. “This theme doubles as a call to government and the general public to support local companies as a catalyst for full economic recovery,” he said.
UMA also noted that such trade fairs are one of the ways through which Uganda can expand its industrial capacity to create employment and expand government revenues. The trade fair will also host a business-to-business linkage opportunity that will create a platform for both foreign and local manufacturers and suppliers to show case their products.
It will also host a platform on which manufacturers will benchmark locally manufactured goods with imported goods, in order to improve the quality of our local products.
Exhibitors will also use the fair to evaluate their competitiveness by sharing knowledge with industrial peers as well as compare ideas, products and trends against which their performance can be measured and how they can improve.
Objective
The objective of the trade fair is to promote locally manufactured products, provide a platform for brand exposure and connection to consumers, contribute to business activities and promotion of investment in Uganda.
Source: https://www.monitor.co.ug/uganda/business/markets/trade-show-returns-after-two-year-break--3806464