Danny MeyerCLAIMS by an exposition organiser that a trade show is bigger and better than in previous years, is usually met with a great deal of skepticism and mostly taken with the proverbial pinch of salt.
Namibia’s show season this year started in April and ends in the last week of November. The Otjinene annual expo opened this year’s season and it ends on 27 November with an exposition at Okondjatu.
The number of trade fairs and exhibitions held annually now exceeds 40. Ignoring the plethora of Christmas markets held annually, if one adds the tourism expo, a number of wine and food expos, bridal shows and the motor shows, the figure climbs to more than 50.
Growing entry numbers and increases in stand rentals backs up claims that expositions are an excellent marketing tool, especially for a business with a growth agenda. But as the saying goes, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
Ask any entrepreneur with a desire to tap into new markets or with a focus on customer base expansion. They will affirm the value of a trade fair. Not only in terms of the immediate gains derived from showcasing goods or services over a few days to a concentration of potential buyers, in the longer term too from contacts established and networking opportunities created.
Municipalities of older towns have long discovered the value of using a trade fair as a local economic development strategy.
For decades, shows have been a highlight on the local business calendar of Grootfontein, Otjiwarongo, Gobabis, Mariental and Keetmanshoop. Although agriculture remains the economic driver, sustainability lies in diversification and a broadening of the town’s economic base. Here expos are a useful development tool.
Of late, trade shows in the coastal towns of Lüderitz, Walvis Bay and Swakopmund have had a makeover.
They have been spruced up to showcase more broadly what the towns have to offer as tourism destinations for locals and not only for foreigners, and in terms of business and investment opportunities. Spinoffs come in the form of broader community involvement, with a variety of entertainment used as the magnet or drawcard.
Newer local authorities, such as the municipalities of Ongwediva, Eenhana and Okakarara, have for some years now successfully used expos to attract local and foreign entrepreneurs. They have made use of annual trade fairs to showcase what they offer in terms of infrastructure and investment opportunities. Visits to those towns clearly reflect the outcome.
Based on the Ministry of Industrialisation, Trade and SME Development’s (MITSMED) offer of support to firms planning to use expositions as a marketing tool, government realises the importance of using trade fairs as a wealth and job creation tool.
In a recent advert in The Namibian MITSMED invites applications for financial assistance to exhibit at 34 local shows during 2016.
Additionally, and to support the more ambitious enterprises planning to venture into the export arena, funding is made available to participate at three international trade fairs in Zambia, South Africa and Angola.
Ponder for a moment the amount of money injected into a town’s local economy by an expo – directly for stand rental, accommodation and consumption of food and beverages by outside exhibitors and visitor entry fees; indirectly, from equipment hire and by using local transport.
Think of the number of jobs created during an expo – help needed to mount, dismantle and do staff displays, and to run the event. Granted, most jobs are temporary, but they provide income to be spent in that local economy.
Add work experience gained and perhaps the igniting of an entrepreneurial spark.
Bottom line is: local shows create jobs and inject money into a local economy.
