The president of the Retail Council of Nigeria (RCN), Ashiwaju Solomon Kayode Onafowokan, has called for a collaboration between the organised retail sector and the informal retail sector in Nigeria in order to develop the economy.
Speaking through his representative, Kunle Hazmat, the Onafowokan made the call at the Retail Sourcing Fair (RSF) West Africa co-located with China Brand Show on recently.
The China Brand Show, which was a major highlight of the fair, was said to be its debut in West Africa in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce of China of the People’s Republic of China.
Commending the efforts of the organisers, Onafowokan said bringing other countries to Nigeria so that its economy can be developed and grow was critical since the economy is not doing so well currently.
“Actually, there is no better time than now to have this kind of event. This is the time when the economy is not doing so well, and bringing other countries so that we can develop and grow ourselves.
“Bringing China down to Nigeria, collaborating with them, ensuring we do great business with them will give us the opportunity to have China/Nigeria because at the end of the day, we’re looking forward to greater collaboration that will eventually bring more businesses by way of establishing their businesses in Nigeria…,” he said.
The event was organised by a partnership between Atlantic Exhibitions and Leoht Africa with the aim of providing a route to market, market penetration and expansion strategies.
But the China Brand Show seeks to strengthen bilateral trade relationship between Nigeria and the People’s Republic of China.
The focus of the event was “exclusively on connecting Nigerian and Chinese businesses, government’s bodies and institutions to have in-depth onsite discussions on investments, business and trade opportunities,” said Bunmi Aliyu, executive director, Leoht Africa.
RSF was described as a trade-only fair focusing exclusively on retail and commercial products for the home, office, gift, and textile sectors.
Trade fairs or exhibitions, are fast becoming avenues for retailers and manufacturers to gain significant market exposure. This is clearly due to the growth of the industry propelled by Nigeria’s nearly 200 million population, with a fast growing middle and emerging middle class with a spending in excess of $100 billion (N36.2 trillion a year) a year.
According to Global Retail Development Index, Nigeria is the leading retail market in Africa with a record of $125 billion on retail sales in 2016.
Anthony Nlebem & Desmond Okon
