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In 30 days, Nigeria and indeed Africa will witness another grand edition of the continent’s largest business event, holding on April 26th and April 27th, at the iconic Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos.

The 2019 Connect Nigeria Business Fair, themed ‘Grow Global’, will for the first time since its inception, run for two days, with an expected attendance of over 15,000 business enthusiasts and leading industry experts across Africa.

Riding on the success of the first edition of the fair in 2011, Connect Nigeria chose to take an indelible stand in the move to develop sustainable businesses in Nigeria with the business fair, and other compact events all year round.

Men and women of the press

Today, thousands of socko business owners across the continent owe their huge success stories to the nonpareil free exposure they enjoy thanks to CN’s business fair.

For Connect Nigeria, the annual fair is a channel to positively impact lives and magnify the ripple effects of successful SMEs on the nation’s economy.

Speaking at the CN Business Fair Press Conference held on Tuesday at Prime Chinese, Victoria Island, which was also the official launch of the 7th edition of the event, the MD/CEO, Connect Nigeria, Emeka Okafor, reemphasized the core values of the fair and the urgency to educate growing business owners on the prevailing trends in the industry.

The world has gradually moved into an information driven era, and the need to inculcate technology into businesses cannot be overstated. Business owners at the fair will be taught how to leverage the robust benefits of technology to enhance their products, gain and retain more clients and multiply revenue.

Emeka Okafor

When asked the importance of SMEs to the growth of the economy, and the role Connect Nigeria plays in getting there, Okafor replied,

“One of the major focuses [of Connect Nigeria] is growing businesses. As a company, our vision is to make everything good in Nigeria easy to find and easy to use.
“What we do is we help businesses get found easily and that helps them scale up, which means that instead of one person they need two or three people, and that means that Nigeria makes more money because there are more people who are employed. Unemployment reduces and growth increases.”

Okafor added that the more successful SMEs in the country are, the more revenue they generate in taxes for the federal government.

(L-R) Uzo Anekwe, Emeka Okafor & Williams Uzomba

Also present at the press conference was the Director General, Nigeria-American Chamber of Commerce, Mrs Joyce Akpata; Head Marketing and Strategy, Rack Centre, Mrs Ejieke Maduka Ezeadiugwu; Business Development Executive, Lagoon Hospitals, Mr. Charles Udeze; Media Consultant, Connect Nigeria, Mr. Williams Uzomba, and Head Business Development, Connect Nigeria, Mr. Uzo Anekwe.

Jumoke Lawoyin, Lucy.ng

Mrs. Akpata, lauded the leadership of Connect Nigeria for their continued support to the development of SMEs across the nation, while also reinforcing the NACC’s commitment to CN’s vision.

(L-R): Mrs. Ejieke Ezeadiugwu, Rack Centre; Mrs Joyce Akpata, NACC DG; Mr Charles Udeze, Lagoon Hospitals.

Speaking on Rack Centre’s partnership with Connect Nigeria, Mrs Ejieke Maduka Ezeadiugwu, recalled the prime role Connect Nigeria played in the success of Rack’s CloudonGround service, which offers a locally hosted high quality cloud marketplace to clients. She also revealed a planned masterclass cloud workshop for attendees at this year’s fair.

On his part, Mr. Udeze said Lagoon Hospitals plans to bring its gospel of ‘health as a priority’ to attendees at this year’s edition of the event.

The private healthcare giant will also offer free basic medical checks to attendees at the fair.

“We just go out to make sure that people are aware that you do not have to fall sick before you visit a hospital to check yourself.”
— Charles Udeze

Click here to register to attend or to book a booth at the fair. You can also call 0700-800-5000.