Kicukiro District’s inaugural tradeshow opens today. The expo, that is targeting only businesses based in the district, has attracted 130 exhibitors, including civil society groups and non-governmental organisations, Angelique Mukunde, the Kicukiro District vice-mayor for economic development, said.

The exhibition was organised by the Kicukiro District Joint Action Development Forum (JADF) and partners. The expo, which runs from today until November 12 at the Gikondo Expo Grounds in Kicukiro, will be an annual event, according to Mukunde.

"We want to encourage exhibitors to share business and investment ideas to improve their businesses and quality of goods and services to become more competitive,” she said.

Thierry Maurice Mwizerwa, a member of organising committee, said the fair gives businesses in the district an opportunity to showcase their products and learn good business practices from peers.

Mwizerwa added that the expo will help create awareness about the goods and services in the district, as well as encourage networking, partnerships and interactions between businesses in the district.

Mukunde said, unlike other district expos, where traders exhibit without trading, exhibitor in the Kicukiro expo will sell their goods and services at "fair” prices. Government has been promoting consumption of locally-made products under the Made-in-Rwanda drive to reduce the import bill and also create a mindset change about the quality of locally-made products.

Rwanda’s formal imports rose 3.3 per cent in value in the first half of the year, to $1,171.25 million, up from $1,134.10 in 2015, according the central bank figures.