The management of the Calabar International Trade Fair Company has announced a trade partnership with the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC).
The union according to the Chief Executive Officer of the company Gerald Konwea is aimed towards the execution of the annual 10,000-vendor trade exhibition.
Konwea explained that the partnership will facilitate international entrepreneur/vendor participation, encourage Nigerian entrepreneur participation at state level and make new business registrations fast and efficient especially through the NIPC’s One Stop Investment Centre (OSIC).
While lauding the management of NIPC for the speed at which the partnership was signed, Mr. Konwea noted that governments – Federal and State – ought to take the CITF project serious by exploiting its economic gains.
He added that due to the magnitude of the project, the maiden edition has been moved to December 16, 2017 to give the team enough time to prepare.
On accommodation and transportation for the fair, Konwea said “There is a shortage of rooms in Calabar to meet the projects demand and we have been exploring options to create more accommodation. We are talking to some companies that provide futuristic trailer park style accommodation but we haven’t put pen to paper on any deals. Real estate developers have an opportunity in Calabar as this event will create a huge market for them in the city.”
The Calabar International Trade Fair project is a consortium led by CLIQIT in partnership with the Cross River State Government of Nigeria to develop local content by establishing cross border synergies.
The week long 10,000 vendor project, consisting 2,000 vendors from Nigeria, 3,000 from the rest of Africa and 5,000 from the rest of the world, aims to empower African entrepreneurs through bridging technological gaps, developing local business strategies, championing strategic investments and creating access to markets towards developing the African continent.
