After 20 years in the industry, having attended every kind of trade fair, exhibition and conference, Engage Trade Africa (ETA) founder, Rex Bowden, was repeatedly hit by the realisation that there was an innate weakness in the format of these events. Business owners looking to grow their businesses and their industries, investing thousands to have a space at a large international event, spending days manning their stand and hoping for the right buyer or partner to find them in an ocean of thousands of other exhibitors. He believed there was a better way…

That is how ETA came to be and why its structure is unique, designed to have the time invested spent wisely and productively for everybody involved.

The exporters, buyers, and associations are carefully vetted, ensuring everybody at the event is ready and able to deliver on partnerships made.

The event begins with a full day of social engagement, exploring the event city as a group, learning more about the industry environment, and giving attendees the chance to create personal connections and relationships in an informal but structured way.

The event venue is carefully selected to create an open but cohesive space, made up of a large open meeting area surrounded by displays on sleek shelving units around the hall’s perimeter, creating a vibrant marketplace environment. The African Exporters have easy access to their own showcase shelf for their products, but do not spend their valuable time standing at the shelf hoping for connections. Rather they attend pre-arranged B2B meetings or further connect with those met during the social networking occurring outside of the formal event days.

The core of the Engage Trade Africa event is the carefully choreographed B2B matchmaking meetings, ensuring each delegate meets with the perfect person to enhance, grow or expand their business. The meetings are spread out across 2 days, occurring in 20-minute windows in “speed-networking” fashion, providing participants time and space to connect while maintaining the energy and feeling of community and engagement. There are also specialised workshop sessions in the afternoons that delegates can attend.

Meetings are seamlessly scheduled using the newly launched Engage meeting platform, which also offers the flexibility to connect online. This platform has enabled connections to flourish long after the formal event days, fostering ongoing relationships and facilitating new deals.

The final day of the event adds yet another highlight with a unique way of networking in the form of FMCG Ecosystem Site Tours. The attendees are split into groups according to their specific industry interest and head out on site visits to leading companies, each chosen for their significant contributions to expanding African FMCG products into the global market.

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