Nigeria’s premier food and drink festival, EatDrinkFestival (EDF) as part of its drive to expand its geographical footprint with support from Sterling Bank has announced plans to hold the 6th edition of the festival in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
Founded in 2015, EatDrinkFestival is a one of a kind annual social event which connects tens of thousands of food lovers, chefs, cooks, mixologists, local and international press to an amazing lifestyle experience.
Folayemi Agusto, co-founder / Festival director of EatDrinkFestival while speaking at a press conference in Lagos announcing the event scheduled for the 8th of June, 2019 said EatDrinkAbuja will bring together an eclectic and carefully curated selection of Abuja’s talented food and drink vendors.
According to her, “Our festivals are all about promoting local talent in the culinary arts in a dynamic way. We are excited to bring the festival to the nation’s capital, and eagerly anticipate a great day”.
Agusto said the festival will bring hidden gems and new culinary experiences from all over Abuja to Harrow Park for one massive day of feasting.
Daphne Akatugba, marketing manager, Sterling Bank said the bank’s support for the festival is in line with its commitment to support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.
Akatugba opines that beyond giving Abuja residents an opportunity to experience a curation of the best food and drinks, EatDrinkAbuja offers small and medium businesses within the region an opportunity to expand their customer base and scale their business.
“We are eager to witness the partnerships that will be borne from the festival as has been the case with Lagos and we are excited to be part of their success story,” Akatugba said.
The Abuja edition is also supported by MAGGI, who will play host to a series of culinary attractions at the festival. From live cooking demonstrations to cooking challenges amongst others.
On her part, Nwando Ajene, Category Manager MAGGI, Nestlé Nigeria said, “We are excited to be part of Eat Drink Abuja as it gives us another opportunity to connect with food lovers seeking new food experiences. At Nestlé, we believe that healthy living and nutrition is important, so MAGGI continues to share knowledge with foodies across Nigeria, encouraging good eating habits through fun, quick nutritious recipes to help them cook the difference. We believe that this will ultimately help improve the overall health of individuals and families in our communities. #EatDrinkAbuja is a technology driven event as the festival will introduce a reloadable wristband system powered by RFID technology for guests to use to complete payments at the festival seamlessly.
The innovative payment system which has been previously implemented at the EatDrinkFestival in Lagos to mitigate transaction failure, will allow guests, on arrival or online before the event, purchase a wristband and load it up with funds to make payments at the event.
