A nine-day exhibition networking thirty Nigerian businesses with their Gambian counterparts ended on Friday 21st October 2022. The fair coordinated by the Gambia Investment & Export Promotion Agency (GiEPA) and the Nigerian High Commission (NHC) was supported by local partners including the Gambian Chamber for Commerce & Industry (GCCI), Gambia Police Force (GPF), Gambia Immigration Department GID), Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) & Gambia Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), as well as Business Service Organizations affiliated to GiEPA.
The Banjul exhibition was funded by the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), the Nigerian Export and Promotion Council (NEPC) and GiEPA. Major activities underpinning the event included a formal opening ceremony held on Friday 14th October, a formal dinner with the visiting Nigerian officials held on Saturday 15th October and the First Lady – Fatoumatta Bah-Barrow’s visit on Sunday 16th October 2022 to interact with entrepreneurs and commemorate breast cancer awareness day.
Reflective twilight engagements of the exhibition was characterized by entertainment shows that spanned for six days staging prominent Nigerian artists and twenty-five other Gambian musicians proudly entertaining the teeming crowds day in and day out.
The Communications Manager of GiEPA – Baboucarr Camara on behalf of GiEPA CEO and board of directors thanked staff and all partners including the Gambia and Nigerian Governments, the First Lady, Office of the President, NHC, SMEDAN, NEPC, GCCI, GPF, GID, GCAA, NEDI and the Youth and Women Chambers of Commerce. Camara described the event as successful but pointed it out as a learning curve as the agency is planning and working on mega events for 2023 and beyond to make the Gambia not only an investment hub but a center for regional trade and a force to be reckoned with in promoting inter-African trade by all its facets.
