The 20th Edition of the annual East African Community Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Trade Fair, officially known as JuaKali Nguvu Kazi Exhibition is set for December 13 to 22 at Gikondo Expo Grounds in Kigali, according to the EAC Secretariat. The trade fair themed “EAC@20: Building EAC through Micro and Small Enterprises” jointly organized on a rotational basis by the EAC Secretariat, the East African Confederation of Informal Sector Organisation (EACISO) in collaboration with EAC partner states, brings together artisans from the six partner states: Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda. In a statement, the Director-General Customs and Trade at the EAC Secretariat, Kenneth Bagamuhunda, the trade fair is expected to attract up to 1,300 exhibitors from EAC Partner States’ Trade Facilitation Institutions and EAC Organs and Institutions. It is noted that during the exhibitions, daily symposia will be conducted to build the capacity of the artisans on integration matters and other issues pertinent to the development of their businesses. Key areas of capacity building that will be covered by the symposium component include: cross border trade; products value addition; standards, quality assurance, metrology and testing; benefits and opportunities of the EAC integration process to SMEs; the bloc’s rules of origin; in addition to small and medium enterprise development and opportunities in the South Sudan. More about the JuaKali Nguvu Kazi Exhibition The EAC Secretariat in collaboration with the partner states and EACISO have organized the annual exhibition, since 1999, in order to support promotion of the micro, small and medium enterprise formerly known as the JuaKali Nguvu Kazi sector of the regional economy. Since then, it is noted that the exhibitions proved to be strategic avenues for promoting the small and micro enterprises sector’s products, transfer of technologies, and promotion of the regional integration process. The first exhibition was held in Arusha, Tanzania, in November 1999 during the historic signing of the Treaty for the Establishment of the EAC. Following the success of the Arusha exhibition, regional Heads of State directed that the trade fair be held annually, on a rotational basis amongst the partner states so as to enhance economic integration in the region.
