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The Nigeria International Trade Fair 2025 returns to the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, Badagry Expressway, from November 21 to November 30, 2025, the Executive Director (ED), Barr. Vera Ndanusa, speaks with Vanguard successful this interrogation connected what to expect…
The Nigeria International Trade Fair (NITF) is returning nether its known sanction aft a 14-year hiatus. What are the cardinal reasons for reviving this lawsuit now, and wherefore is its archetypal sanction and nationalist mandate being restored?
The Trade Fair has reverted to its erstwhile sanction successful bid to springiness it continuity. We decided to proceed from wherever it started. The Fair started decades agone truthful we decided to relocate it to its archetypal sanction truthful arsenic to springiness continuity and besides support the look arsenic the commercialized hub successful Africa. That’s the spot to be. Going backmost is bringing backmost the presumption of the Fair successful the country.
We had to revive the Trade Fair due to the fact that implicit the decades we’ve seen investors’ involvement successful Africa and maturation successful areas similar tech, agribusiness and manufacturing. Restoring the Fair to its archetypal sanction is astir reaffirming the archetypal mandate arsenic Nigeria’s nationalist marketplace.
It is our mandate to really organise the Fair. The Trade Fair analyzable is purposely built. So, going backmost to its sanction is continuing with the bequest of concern maturation successful the analyzable and to besides prolong the Trade Fair’s presumption arsenic the marketplace hub successful West Africa. It is simply a committedness to really rebuild the Fair arsenic a flagship gateway to the ECOWAS portion and the aftermarket, astir particularly due to the fact that of the determination of the analyzable which is astatine the West Africa corridor. It’s going to beryllium a determination marketplace and an casual entree to different markets from West Africa and Africa arsenic a whole.
The just is positioned arsenic a “gateway to the $700B ECOWAS market” and a level for the African Continental Free Trade Area. How specifically volition NITF 2025 assistance Nigerian businesses, peculiarly SMEs, leverage these monolithic determination and continental markets?
No nation’s system tin turn without SMEs. The SMEs are the centre absorption of the NITF 2025. The opportunities see nonstop entree to buyers and distributors from crossed West Africa and beyond. Participation successful sector-specific workshops and export readiness goods volition bring backmost goods that are export-ready.
We are besides going to leverage what we utilized to do, which is the NITF Awards, by creating immoderate circumstantial opportunities for some participants and investors alike to vie for immoderate trophies. We really opened up the abstraction for much participants to participate. We volition make opportunities for financing and digitalisation. We’re besides creating B2B, match-making sessions for investors to conscionable traders, for investors to conscionable owners of caller businesses who whitethorn request fiscal assistance.
Above all, it is going to springiness visibility to SMEs that whitethorn not person the accidental of making their goods crossed borders themselves. It’s a holistic bundle and we’re making definite that everything is done properly, specified that SMEs, women and youths are carried along.
Could you elaborate connected however exertion and integer commercialized volition beryllium integrated into the Fair’s activities? And what tangible outcomes bash you expect from this focus?
We’re integrating them successful 3 ways. First, done integer exhibition, catalogues and appointments, online bookings that let buyers and sellers to link successful beforehand and to optimise their time.
Secondly, done thematic pavilions and workshops connected integer translation similar e-commerce, fintech and greenish technology. We springiness businesses vulnerability to cutting-edge solutions.
Thirdly, done conversations connected argumentation and regularisation that enactment integer commercialized crossed borders. The result we expect includes accrued adoption of integer tools by Nigerian SMEs, caller partnerships with planetary tech players and existent lawsuit studies of businesses that grow into caller markets done integer channels aft the Fair.
Incidentally, we cognize that Nigeria has been placed successful the forefront of digitalisation successful Africa truthful we’re leveraging that to get the experts successful exertion to thatch our concern owners however they tin usage exertion to broaden their marketplaces and amended their goods and services. This focus,...
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