I hadn’t set foot at the revamped trade fair in a while. I can’t remember the last time I was at this event, probably during my days of entertainment reporting, nogal.
Which is funny, when you consider the trade fair has undergone a serious makeover over the years and has continued to attract such large numbers – both for entertainment and the show itself, as we used to call it in our time.
This was when the trade fair was still at the show grounds in Manzini, Mzimnene, although the Mavuso Trade Fair can claim to be by the same river, just a few stones’ throw away.
These days, the Eswatini Investment Promotion Agency (EIPA) has done an amazing job transforming the trade fair into the modern-day Bushfire of trade and business.
| Eswatini Observer WhatsApp Channel
The trade fair now brings together a beautiful mix of display of businesses and social gathering, making it an exciting event mixing businesses with pleasure.
That certainly was my take home on my first day at the trade fair, partly on invitation to host a seminar but then mainly as an opportunity to take in the vibrancy of the event through the many exhibition halls and stands I was able to visit.
I was thoroughly blown away by the amount of new innovations of business and displays by companies as well as the ambience of everything. One was fortunate to have visited India this year to take part in their WAVES Summit, which is really an entertainment turned business summit, showing off India’s innovation and adaptation to technology.
The event in India was an attempt to bring together showbiz ideas into a business concept, while offering attendees a relentless show of arts and innovation in entertainment.
I was reminded as I took a tour of the stands, on Thursday last week, how much we have as a country, so much potential to maximise on these types of activities, to not just grow but to develop this notion of creative opportunities for the small and medium businesses to thrive consistently.
It is when you look at such events that you realise this country has massive opportunities to grow the SMME sector; to stimulate the economy by staging more of such activities and then encouraging many of us to support each other.
A quick tour of the main stalls did not disappoint.
The corporate sector really outdoes itself in these events and I quietly hope that they are able to reap more from their participation because it was truly beautiful to see.
In fact, I might just add – if not brag – that I had the rare privilege of being hosted by the Minister of ICT Savannah Maziya on the second day of my attendance at the trade fair.
The minister gave me a tour of the ICT stand, where all of the parastatals that report to her ministry provided a beautiful display of technology and innovation – from the Royals Science and Technology Park (RSTP) to Eswatini Communications Commission (ESCCOM) and everything in between. It was amazing seeing what young people had put together and the ensemble included the youth who have been given an opportunity to apply their skills through the RSTP incubator programmes.
I spent a good 30 minutes at this hall, being given the honour of being a minister’s guest, which also worked wonders for me to meet the newly-appointed RSTP Board Chair and a few of the directors on both the RSTP and the EPTC.
It was truly a nice experience and I look forward to seeing more of the people I was introduced to by the minister, although some of them acted as if we were strangers!
But, on the whole, I thought the minister had done an amazing job bringing everyone under one roof, giving them the platform to demonstrate what innovation they bring to the table.
The only problem of course, for some is that we know they put up a show only for the cameras.
Anyway, minister Savannah Maziya’s excitement that whole time and later in the night when His Majesty toured the stand tells the story of what the trade fair has come to represent overall.
Unlike in the days of our youth, when the highlight of the trade fair was the night events, these days, the participation and display by companies takes centre stage – much more significantly, the platform to market themselves to their customers.
It is clear from the importance attached to the participation that this means a lot more for companies, which can also be seen from how much they are spending on the stands and the products on display.
This is a major shift that creates the exciting experience for those attending, while also opens opportunities for further business. It is what the trade fair and EIPA have successfully achieved over the years, which owes a lot to the support by not just parastatals but corporate entities that have year on year been a part of the trade fair.
On the day of the official closing, it was evident that the place was getting smaller, pavilions become a hive of business activities and the football pitch could be a bit bigger to accommodate the teams and the stands need to be extended. Ten years ago, this venue looked a little more daunting for everything and here we are today looking at what else can be done to shift things around. This is great credit to the organising team and the belief that we have all attached to this place over the years.
It is in seeing such growth and support from all sectors that we can truly embrace the trade fair as a major highlight of our calendar, to go with the consistent support of His Majesty to ensure that we stage an event that is par excellence.
No wonder then the enthusiasm by the minister in making sure that her team gives a fitting performance on the big stage, because there is so much riding on what the ideas and innovation to give a glimpse of what she stands for as a business person and one who has been to the future.
Eswatini Observer Press Reader | View Here
