Northern Trade Fair kicks off
Lebogang Mosikare | Monday May 29, 2023 06:00
The Fair is scheduled to take from May 24 to 28 at the Gerald Estates Show Grounds.
The BBNTF Regional Manager (North), Eileen van der Est said the largest business exhibition in the northern part of the country will be held under the theme, “Promoting Economic Growth Through Industrialisation”.
She said the theme highlights that the Fair is committed to helping the business sector to grow in order to create employment opportunities.
“The theme for this year’s event means that as a private sector functioning as a chamber of commerce, employer organisation and business representative body, we are duty bound to help business entities to grow,” Van der Est said. “We have to look at existing business policies and strategies and refine them so that they can support business growth. “We envisage that by doing so, we will be able to create big industries that will hire a lot of people.”
Van der Est went on to say that many organisations from the manufacturing sector have confirmed that they will take part at the event and while exact numbers were unavailable by Wednesday, these will be more than in previous editions of the Fair.
While no foreign entities are scheduled to take part in the BBNTF this year, at least 120 local corporates from various sectors are due to exhibit.
“We have many business entities from the manufacturing sector who have confirmed their participation in this year’s event. “This is a good sign that shows that we can be able to help our economy to grow. “We need to diversify our economy from the over-dependence on the mining sector, especially diamonds and the manufacturing sector is one of the avenues of doing so since it can employ a lot of people,” added Van der Est.
Meanwhile, BBNTF will offer participants an opportunity to leverage on networking and finding new ways of doing business.
Participants will also have the opportunity to reimagine their business models and reconfigure their supply chains to become more flexible, agile and resilient.
In the past, the BBNTF has encouraged exhibitors to bring forth their best innovations that reflect their capabilities to formulate innovative home-grown solutions that match global standards.
Entrance at the event is free.