Kenyan entrepreneurs link up with Chinese traders
Publish Time: 2016-06-17 Origin: Site
Nairobi hosts fair aimed at aiding businesses to forge partnerships
What was billed as the first China Trade Week of its kind in East Africa, which ran for three days early this month in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, attracted more than 10,000 visitors, organizers said.
The event, which opened at Kenyatta International Convention Center's Tsavo Ballroom on July 1, featured more than 150 Chinese companies all hoping to find African partners.
The companies covered various sectors, including construction, consumer electronics, electric vehicles, plastic molding equipment and materials, home electrical goods, new energy devices, and elevators systems.
"We ran out of name tags, catalogues and bags for visitors," said David Wang, managing director of MIE Group, which organized the event. "We'd planned for 3,000 for the first day, but we were overwhelmed by the number of visitors who showed up."
MIE Group is a Chinese company based in Dubai that has previously helped many Chinese exhibitors to attend the Big 5 Show, the largest construction industry trade fair in the Middle East.
China Trade Week was organized in partnership with the Kenya Investment Authority, the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Kenya Private Sector Alliance.
On the opening day, Pius Rotich, general manager of investment and promotion for the Kenya Investment Authority, welcomed the Chinese traders and encouraged them to forge partnerships with their Kenyan counterparts.
The fair would play a vital role in creating investment opportunities for locals as well as small and medium-sized enterprises, he said.