Lagos Shopping Festival will drive commerce- Sanwo-Olu

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said the maiden Lagos Shopping Festival, planned from December 23 to 25 at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena on Lagos Island would create employment opportunities and drive commerce in the state.

Sanwo-Olu stated this at the unveiling of the festival symbol at Lagos House, Ikeja, on Tuesday evening, noting that the inaugural shopping festival would also support local businesses, attract global brands, and create direct and indirect job opportunities through vendor participation, logistics, event management and entertainment.

The governor added that the festival, being organised by the state ministry of tourism, culture and arts in partnership with Tolaram Africa Group, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, and Chain Reactions Africa, would attract local and international tourists to the state.

“We are a city of audacious people who dream big and think big. By this December, the City of Dubai will be holding the 30th edition of its annual Dubai Shopping Festival. But we are just starting now, and we believe it is never too late.

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“Through our ministry of tourism, culture and arts, in April, we had the proof of the concept. We had a trade fair where sales over N5 billion were recorded by just 245 vendors in just three days. So, we have tested the concept, and we know it can only get bigger.

“I am excited that come this December, the City of Lagos will be joining the league of other global cities such as Istanbul and Dubai with their own dedicated shopping festivals. This is part of our broader strategy to continue to market Lagos as a premium destination for business and leisure.

Damilola Pedro, the festival director of organisation and logistics, said the shopping festival would promote trade and commerce during the three days of activities.

“The Lagos Shopping Festival places us alongside other big economies like the Singapore Shopping Festival and Dubai Festival. Lagos is thriving and opening up for more businesses.

Idris Aregbe, the special adviser to the governor on tourism, culture and arts, narrated how the ministry had used a fair earlier organised in April in conjunction with another private entity as proof of concept to test the waters ahead of the Lagos Shopping Festival, which is bigger in scope and scale.