While business people created contacts, visitors thronged the village for diverse reasons.

The fifth edition of the International Exhibition for Enterprises, SMEs, and Partnerships, PROMOTE 2014 has come and gone with much to show by all who participated. Exhibitors and visitors alike broke their past records and put the 2014 edition as the best in terms of participation compared to hitherto editions (2002, 2005, 2008 and 2011).

Exhibitors, Visitors

Statistics from the organising committee put the number of businessmen and women who turned up to showcases their goods and services at the Yaounde event at 1,200 from about 31 countries. Of this number, over 800 were nationals from diverse business entities in the country, 300 of which constituted the small and medium-sized enterprises sector.

Remarkable was the heavy participation of all the ten countries of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) with a diversity of products. This ranged from coffee in either raw or consumable form, chips made out of everything produced in the region, medicinal drugs and drinks, forest products as well as craft works.

The participation of foreigners (about 250) greatly spiced the nine-day show. They came with diverse products and advanced technology which could be embraced and adopted to fit in the development objectives of the country.

This was for instance, the case of an American real estate company in the construction industry that could make an impact in the construction sector in the country as they brought in brand new technology to produce dry walls which can allow for a house to be constructed in a month and at what exhibitors say reduced cost. The number would have been more than this had the Ebola scare not prevented some four West African countries from participating at the show for the first time.

The number of visitors also grew as Saturday alone, the last but one day to the end of the show, witnessed a record visitor intake of 30,000 people added to the 10,000 exhibitors and people who worked in the stands. Although we did not have final statistics of visitors at press time, organisers said it would certainly go far beyond that of previous editions.

Debate Conferences

Promote 2014 was not only about showcasing business ingenuity but also sharing experiences and learning from each other to evolve. There were about 55 of such conferences in as diverse areas as the organisers. There was for instance the Ministry of Finance that held diverse conferences to explain modernity in managing State finances.

Other topics included among others “Regional trade and development in Central Africa: Stakes and challenges in the global era,” “The adhesion of enterprises to the national programme for upgrading enterprises,” and “Discovering the assets of arbitration and mediation: Value services for enterprise, well-paid jobs and services for jurists and experts.” While calling on potential exhibitors to respect time, organisers say reflection will be carried out to improve on performance of the 6th edition, henceforth to hold after two years.