Business slow at Annual Trade Fair

From the outside, Lugogo Show Grounds is unusually a hive of activity. Throngs of people entering the Show Grounds, women selling goods as small as sweets and youth distributing fliers of their products welcome you to what Ugandans have grown to know as the Uganda International Trade Fair held by Uganda Manufacturers, Association (UMA) annually.

Just inside these Show Grounds along Jinja Road in Kampala is a colourful collection of erected banners, branded stalls filled with merchandise and a mass of humanity that has a life of its own. It is difficult to miss the chattering between sellers and buyers, school children buying ice cream, car lovers inspecting the latest brands and African fashion diehards shifting their eyes to one stall and then an alternative.

The Trade Fair has lured telecoms, automobile, real estate/construction, cosmetics, food, electronics, textiles and stationery companies among many. As we slip into the crowd, we engage the exhibitors and each of them has a goal to achieve from the eight-day trade fair. Tableware retailer Jacob Akandwanaho has come to promote his goods.

“This is my second time. I work from Kikuubo, a place many people do not know or do not want to come to. So it is good to come and showcase my things,” he says. Mr Akandwanaho says the turn up has been low but if it had not been for the Shs800,000 rent, the Fair would have been worth it.

“Since Tuesday, we have not been selling because we only see children yet we are selling things afforded by old people,” he says. He, however, hoped the weekend could be a game changer.
Inspiring Interiors chief executive officer Ronald Kizito is here to enable his brand interact with his potential clients.

“When you come to the fair, you showcase your value addition, it gives opportunity for our customers to interact and touch our furniture and we do not expect instant orders. We want to see other trends and know our competitors,” Mr Kizito explains.
He says the turn-up is a bit low with a few corporate customers and students making up 90 per cent of clients this time.

Venabu Investments Limited managing director Mr Stephen Nsibambi, a first time exhibitor, on Friday had 25 customers and told buyers to look at his locally made shoes even if they have no money because he is trying to build his one-year old brand from the grassroots.
“People have bought but many have come with small budgets. Apart from making money, we have networked with retailers, wholesalers and customers,” he says. He hopes to make Shs5m for the start.

These are part of the 1,000 local business people that have exhibited their goods at the 25th Trade Fair. 500 foreign companies from East Africa, West Africa, Asia and Europe have found space at the Fair too. Nairobi- based Masaku Cottage crafts business man Benjamin Kyalo has participated in the Fair for seven years and is present to make the most out of the East African Integration. He usually earns around Shs7m but is likely to earn half of that this year.

This Trade Fair has become a must-attend for business people. The common saying among marketing gurus that doing business without advertising, is similar to winking at a beautiful girl in the dark and expecting to catch her attention, is the same spirit behind the Trade Fair.

Behind the Fair
According to Mubaraka Kirunda Nkuutu, the acting executive director UMA, contrary to the general belief that the show was started by the late industrialist James Mulwana, the UMA Trade Fair dates back to the 1960s when Uganda and particularly Jinja, was East Africa’s industrial power house. At the time, the Association was still in infancy much as the industries in Jinja such as Nytil, the Steel industries, paper factories and many others were still vibrant.

He says Madhvani Group of Companies found it necessary to have an area where local manufacturers could come together and display products manufactured in Uganda. This was the case until the 1970s when chaos broke out in the country.
Between 1970s and 1985, there was less production in the country and since most products were imported from Kenya, Ethiopia and Tanzania and in 1988, the late James Mulwana decided to revive the Association.

In 1988, during relative stability in the country, the late Mulwana revived the Association but on forts where big trucks parked on roads to display the goods. In 1992, he approached local government minister then, Mr Bidandi Ssali for land. UMA was given the current premises in Lugogo which started with 200 exhibitors.
UMA held three national Fairs at Lugogo indoor stadium from 1989 to 1991. Later, the first national Fair was held there in 1992 before the launch of the multi-sectoral Uganda International Trade Fair (UGITF) in 1993 at the present venue. Similar Trade Fairs have, for years, been held in Eastern and Western Uganda.

The Show is not a mere show of foreign products but products from local Medium Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) changing the business space in the country.
“When you reach here, you appreciate that our manufacturers have greatly improved in terms of quality. So the public should be part of this so that they stop thinking imported goods are the best ones,” Mr Nkuutu says.

Private Sector Foundation Uganda executive director Gideon Badagawa, says for a country that is yearning to get into Middle Income Status, the idea of the Trade Fair is to demonstrate the progress made in the industrial sector in terms of value addition.
He says the reason the economy has been growing in the last 20 years is because Ugandans are paying attention to industry sector, adding value, sourcing technologies, training and improving skills, forging partnerships to engage and sustain markets.
Ugandan private sector is in its infancy with 90 per cent of it as MSMEs and such Trade Fairs are critically key.

“The challenge we have when we come to showcase what we are doing is that we need to be more creative, demonstrate capacity we have and that we should have to employ more people,” he says.
Mr Kyalo concurs saying to make the most out of a Trade Fair, one should showcase innovative products every year because customers are dynamic and try different things. He says an exhibitor has to work on the pricing to make it as affordable as possible.
“You give discounts and increase the turnover so that you sell and make a profit,” he says.
Mr Akandwanaho says making a Trade Fair work for you depends on what you want to sell.

“I am here because I have been selling this for five years. So when you come around, look at what will move and what does not,” he says.
Mr Nsibambi says investment is for the strong hearted. Stalls cost up to Shs700,000 after sharing a stall, branding is inevitable while transporting a few furniture exhibits costs up to Shs400,000.
“This is an International Trade Fair, put in the money even though clients might not necessarily buy but you make contact,” Mr Nsibambi says.

Economic implication
Some experts are not yet sure of the exact macro-economic implications of the annual Trade Fair.
But Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) manager public and corporate affairs Ian Rumanyika describes the resulting impact as a plus in terms of revenue.

“Businesses have a platform that helps them get a bigger market and they grow in terms of profit and that increases the revenue because we collect on their profit,” he says.
The other boost to the economy comes from engagement of tax payers. The Trade Fair is an avenue for URA to pick tax payers’ challenges that inform taxation policy.