By Nik Ogbulie
Investment result from the just concluded Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF2023) in New Cairo, Egypt, has surpassed its pre-event billing. Kanayo Awani, Executive Vice President of Afreximbank and CEO of Intra-African Trade Initiative, told journalists yesterday that the event was so successful that most of the set targets were dismantled and the institution feels so much gratified, even as more post-event activities relating to deals and other objectives of the program remain so positive. According to Awani, the very positive records that have remained largely progressive since 2018 have justified the vision and reason for the establishment of IATF as a buffer for African trade and background for robust funding to investments in the continent.
According to Awani, a huge $43.7 billion in trade and investment was recorded which stands higher than the records in Cairo in 2018 and Durban in 2021. This development was believed to have been an indication that the initiative has continued to attract new efforts and interests in a measured progressive manner. While the trade and investment deal projected was $43 billion, the current report indicates a plus. The event also attracted some 1,939 exhibitors against the projected 1,600 while 130 countries were involved in all forms of exhibition against the projected 75 countries and the 69 that was recorded in 2021. Looking at the trade and investment deals, the trend of its growth remains largely ambitious; from $32 billion at the on-set in 2018 to $43billion in 2021 and $43.7 billion two years after. These records also maintained some marginal growth in the projections in all the event periods. There is also a very high growth period in attendance indicating continued growth rates in the number of exhibitors, participating countries, delegates as well as government representatives and international trade interests.
However, the event did not beat its targeted 35, 000 visitor-projection which came into about 29,000 at the end of the event, indicating the out-cry that greeted the immigration snag that made quite a huge number of people unable to make the event. Countries like Nigeria witnessed a drop in its incremental attendance record as more than 400 visitors could not be given access based on either delayed visa or rejected visa or failure of the host country to decide on visa-on-arrival quite early. This becomes more difficult where intending visitor and exhibitors travel quite a distance several times to honour visa appointments. Coming only two weeks after the 2023 World Bank/IMF Annual Meetings in Marrakech, Morocco, participants explained that the Moroccan Government introduced e-visa at no cost which gave every participant a very good opportunity. If such opportunities were granted to exhibitors in Egypt, the target visitor rate would have doubled and that could be in the interest of African trade. This development may be taken care of by the Algerian government, host to the 2025 edition.
Completing the treble in grand style, our sources commended the bank for an admirable progression and urged Awani to continue to fine-tune some of the grey areas involving transportation and immigration as more Africans look up to the event as the only way to grow the African economy better. One of the exhibitors who spoke to us from Abidjan, Cote D’ivoir, Renes Koffi, CEO of Renese K, noted that the event was “an excellent big open market. It was good with good organization. Everything was good. The only sad experience I had was the payment system in Cairo which did not work very well. Again, the exhibition halls were far apart and did not provide that comfort needed for a brisk stroll across. Then I cannot get my videos and other optics as promised because I have to use these materials for transactions. I really enjoyed the event and it was largely very valuable to me.”
While acknowledging the commendation of the journalists for a job well done, Awani noted that every commendation should go to the management of Afreximbank and the team that handled the entire program, indicating that the bank has been able to recognize the importance and relevance of gender equality in all its activities. She said that her role in the entire process was a privilege.
There are strong indications that more reports on trade investments and deals are being expected from transactions that are to be concluded. There are beliefs that the total deals may be inching towards $50 billion mark by the time the books would be closed.
