After successfully organizing Made in Rwanda in Kigali, the Private Sector Federation (PSF) in partnership with Rubavu district administration and other partners have organised a 15-day international exhibition that will be held on the shores of Lake Kivu, bringing together exhibitors from at least eight countries.

The annually-held exhibition will run from Friday this week on December 13.

According to Gilbert Habyarimana, the Rubavu district mayor, there are different countries that have already confirmed participation in the exhibition and these are; Egypt, India, Cameroun, Ghana, DRC, Kenya, Tanzania and the hosts Rwanda.

"We have inviting several countries among which, eight have confirmed. During this festive season, we get a lot of people including tourists and others, so we are taking this opportunity to provide market to the private sector,” he said, adding that there are many innovations being showcased.

"We are glad that now, more businesses understand the role of showcasing their home-made products.”

Rubavu District is particularly known for being the gateway for Rwanda’s tourism and it has an added advantage of having three borders with DR Congo as well as being the second developed district in terms of infrastructure.

According to the mayor, the exhibition will over and above help the Rwandan private sector to cultivate partnerships with their colleagues from other countries, which will in the long run help grow their businesses.

Pascal Maniragaba, the PSF chair in Rubavu district, said: "This exhibition is about showcasing our products, but it is also about learning from other exhibitors. We take this time to share experiences we have but of course learn from others who are more advanced than we are.”

He added; "We Rwandans have made strides in creativity, which has continued to facilitate the refining of their work.”

The expo is different from last year’s with signs of improvement, the mayor said.

"A lot of improvements have been made: The land registration services shall be provided, entertainment to attract the youth has also been added and different NGOs will be on hand to offer a variety of services," he said. 

The exhibition will be held every day on the shores of Lake Kivu from 8AM to midnight. Last year the expo attracted a total of 60 000 people in two weeks, according to the Private Sector Federation.