Consumer Fair 2011 gets bigger

Staff Writer | Thursday July 28, 2011 00:00

 

The CEO of Fairground Holdings, Michael Montshiwa, says the show continues to attract international exhibitors with eight countries represented at this year's edition, namely, South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya and Japan.

An improvement this year is that the organisers have created a platform for the general public to discuss opportunities and challenges of Batswana entrepreneurs and how to respond to them.

The platform will be in the form of a workshop dubbed 'Entrepreneurial Development Opportunities' and will be held in conjunction with the Botswana Association of Youth Enterprises (BAYEs).

Montshiwa says Fairground Holdings will continue to avail such platforms for both entrepreneurs and consumers. 'The fair is designed for entrepreneurs to meet potential consumers,' he says. 'Its benefits to the exhibitor are endless.' The Botswana Consumer Fair also allows exhibitors to penetrate new markets and increase brand awareness and sales. For the consumer seeking information, the show brings various service providers under one roof.

'The seven-day event attracts over 60 000 visitors,' says Montshiwa. 'Various stakeholders have a vested interest in capturing this concentrated population.'

There is something for the young ones, too.

As part of its corporate social responsibility, Fairground Holdings has organised Fun Fair at which children aged between 6 and 8 can enjoy the rides. Fifteen of these children will be from Holy Cross Hospice Day Care Centre, a non-governmental organisation that supports children whose parents are terminally ill. The rest will be from the Centre for Deaf Education in Ramotswa.