Various exhibitors who participated in the 10th edition of the East African Jua Kali expo were awarded at the closing ceremony of the ten-day exhibition which took place in Rwanda for the first time.

The ceremony which was presided over by Monique Nsanzabaganwa, the Minister of Commerce Trade and Industry (MINICOM), took place at the Gikondo show grounds yesterday.

The exhibition attracted participants from all the five East African countries that include Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda.

Tanzania emerged the best exhibitor scooping the first award, while Rwanda the host, walked away with the award of best in fashion show.

Other Rwandan participants who were awarded in various categories included Sina Gerald (Nyirangarama), the Rwanda National Police, Rwanda Revenue Authority and Bralirwa, the country’s leading brewer.

The expo which gained momentum in the last two days registered a number of 26,325 visitors in the last ten days as revealed by the Private Sector Federation (PSF).

During her speech, Nsanzabaganwa said that the Government of Rwanda in its vision 2020 wants the economy to be a private sector driven economy, saying that it has put more efforts in empowering the Private Sector for this goal to be achieved.

The minister also urged the micro, small and medium enterprises to be innovative and more competitive so that they compete favourably on the International Market.

On behalf of the local exhibitors, Leonie Niyonsaba said that they were happy to have hosted this important event in East Africa as it exposed them to other exhibitors from all the five EAC member states who came along with different products and skills.

She also said that they had learnt a lot from their counterparts which was going to help them improve their performance.

It is the first time that the Jua Kali expo which began in 1999, to be attended by all the five East African Member States with Burundi being the latest addition.

According to a mini survey conducted by the PSF however, the exhibitors highlighted some challenges met in this year’s event including low purchasing power which led to price cuts, expensive accommodation, language barrier, exhibitors having almost the same products, and low publicity of the event on the side of the organisers.

They asked Tanzania, which will host it next year to address those issues for it to be a success.

This year’s theme was "Empowering the small and medium enterprises as the engine of economic development in East Africa.”

And it attracted over 800 exhibitors from the East African region.

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