EA TRADERS GEAR UP FOR AFRICA BUSINESS FAIR

 BY GRACE MACHA IN ARUSHA

Business entities in East Africa are gearing up for a continental trade fair that is scheduled to take place in Egypt next month, attracing exhibitors from all over Africa. 

The third Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2023) will be organized by the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) in collaboration with the African Union (AU) and the AfCFTA secretariat.

The East African Business Council (EABC) is mobilising traders and other interested groups from the East African region for the seven day Expo in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. 

"ATF2023 promises to catapult our East African business into the spotlight, forging connections and opening doors you never knew

existed", the apex body of the private sector associations in the region has said in a statement. 

The trade fair will, among other things, foster discussions on critical topics related to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) and address challenges affecting intra-African trade and investment flows. 

With over 1.3 billion people and a colossal GDP surpassing $ 3.5 trillion,all within the AfCFTA, the opportunities for trade and investment flows are seen to be boundless. 

During the trade fair, exhibitors will share trade, investment and market information with various stakeholders, including investors,small and medium enterprises,, the informal sector and Africans in the Diaspora. 

In recent months, EABC in collaboration with Afreximbank has launched aggressive sensitization on SMEs and women in business in East Africa within the framework of AfCFTA. 

The goal is to equip the SMEs with the skills to effectively capitalize on the opportunities presented by the African free trade pact already ratified by nearly all East African Community (EAC) partner states. 

For the EAC region, the opportunities will come in handy through establishing regional value chains,reduced dependency on external partners and ultimately improving GDP through domestic value addition.

EABC executive director John Bosco Kalisa says effective AfCFTA implementation is expected to lift 20 million people in Africa out of extreme poverty and 60 million out of moderate poverty by 2035.