After a week of the Kenya trade, investment and cultural exhibition on “Tempête” ground in Bujumbura the capital, tradespeople who participated in the exposition said it was beneficial to them.
Customers came in large number at the end of the trade fair
September 11 was the last day of the Kenya trade fair. Customers rushed to visit as many stands as possible while exhibitors called each guest passing by. “It is the last day, we try to attract as many clients as possible, maybe today, we should sell more than yesterday”, says Annick Kabatesi, manager of “Murundikazi fashion”, selling traditional clothes made of trees. She goes on to say that comparably to the past days, this trade fair presented an added value as people got to know her products. She says she has made many contacts and hopes they will come back to see what she does. “Normally, my products are bought by foreign tourists or high officials, but thanks to this exposition, I think my customers will increase in number.”
For André Masumbuko from the association of Artists and vendors of decorative art objects, the added value of this trade fair is that their work is now known by a large public and exhibitors have shared experience with others. “We are now aware of how others do to make their products; otherwise, there were not many customers”, he said.
As for the Global Port Services Burundi agent, he says participants have been given more details on how the port works as an important link that contributes to the economic development for Burundi by conducting port operations in order to fully satisfy customers and all other users of the port. He also says that people should not confuse Global Port Services Burundi with Burundi Revenue Authority which collects taxes.
“The objective is to display services“
For Akili Milindi Karim, who represented the Summit International Institute in the trade fair, the latter has helped them to explain more about their University. “Many Burundian universities or institutes don’t train students to create their own jobs but our focus is on job creation”, he said.
“During this trade fair, several people have visited our stand and the number of enrolment of students will probably increase”, he added.
For the owners of Kenya Port Authority stand, the trade fair has helped them to make known KPA services widely. “Few people are aware of KPA services. Most of them prefer using-Dar es-Salaam Port while our services are quicker,” says one lady met in KPA stand. “We needed more economic operators than other visitors, but we unfortunately have received officials”, he says.
The trade fair has been organized by the Kenyan Embassy. Sospeter O. Ngoya, Senior Foreign Service Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in Kenya indicated that it was a successful event given that the objective was to discover opportunities that should attract Kenyan investors. “We have noticed that the domains of fishing and agriculture attract Kenyan Investors who may seek to export goods from these sectors”, he said. He also says Kenya will contribute to the training of some Burundians in tourism and hotel business. “We invite Burundian economic operators to organize their trade fair in Kenya to share experience with others and attract more investors to Burundi”, he concluded.
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