The 23rd Ghana International Trade Fair (GITF) organised by the Ghana Trade Fair Centre (GTFC) to provide a platform for businesses to network and as well promote their goods and services has been brought to a closure.

The 12-day Fair, which commenced on February 28, 2019 was attended by 10,000 participants and more than 600 exhibitors.

The Fair, held on the theme: “Made in Ghana, Globally Accepted”, was organised by the GTFC in partnership with local and international businesses to bring a fresh face to the perennial exhibition.

Dr Agnes Adu, the Chief Executive Officer of the GTFC said as part of the Centre’s initiatives to make the Fair a memorable and profitable one, it introduced modern marketing technologies for exhibitors to access e–commerce and online platforms to promote and sell their goods and services online.

It also gave local producers the opportunity to introduce their products to both local and international consumers, she said.

She noted that the Centre achieved its expectations and objectives at the end of the Fair, adding that, they hoped the Fair would open up many avenues for Small and Medium-scale Enterprises to develop.

“So I will urge all to support our quest not only for industrialisation but for Ghana to become a globally accepted nation with exports and for reduction of our dependency on imports,” she said.

Dr Adu said the responses from the exhibitors were positive and therefore, preparation for the 2020 International Fair was underway.

She said: “The reason our focus is on SMEs and will continue to be on SMEs is because they are the group that needs the most help. We don’t just invite SMEs, we invite multinational companies as well, and our hope is to introduce them to each other”.

She explained that “Pavilion B” of the Centre was dedicated to hosting about 140 international companies, adding that, their focus was on SMEs as it aimed at tapping into the energies of the multinational companies to harness the potentials in the SMEs.

The focus of the Trade Fair Centre over the years, she said, had been to support the government’s agenda of promoting industrialisation by encouraging the citizenry to produce, sell and use its own products and services to generate revenue for the growth of the economy.

Dr Adu disclosed that the Centre had plans of hosting the Fair in other regions from next year, adding that, the 2016 International Fair which was held in Tamale was successful.

“We will do that but it will become more necessary as we try to revamp the entire site of the Trade Fair Centre. Therefore, once work starts, the fairs would definitely need to be held in other regions,” she said.

Source: GNA