VFD Group, a Lagos based proprietary investment company, has announced a partnership with African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and will support the second edition of the Intra-Africa Trade Fair (IATF2021).
The firm’s Group Managing Director, Mr Nonso Okpala, said on Friday in Lagos that this was part of the company’s initiative to explore cross border partnership within Africa and beyond.
According to him, the IATF2021, scheduled from Nov. 15 to Nov.21, which is the biggest gathering of Africa trade actors, will bring together continental and global buyers and sellers.
He added that the event would provide a unique and valuable platform for businesses to access an integrated African market of over 1.2 billion people with a GDP of over 2.5 trillion dollars.
He said IATF’s theme would focus on the newly launched African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) – a single market for goods and services across 55 countries, aimed at boosting trade and investment.
He explained that the AfCFTA, a brainchild of Afreximbank, IATF2021 is the only pan-African Business-2-Business cross-sector trade fair with an unrivalled opportunity for buyers and sellers to meet and explore business opportunities – and attracts investors and trade organisations from all over the world.
“Our collaboration with Afreximbank through the IATF2021 has always been a major goal of the Group and aligns to our strategic intent of exploring new markets and businesses that will aggregate potentially viable investments.
“We are also considering expanding cross border partnerships to gain a significant foothold beyond the Nigerian Market.
“As an industry-agnostic proprietary investment company that promotes innovation in diverse sectors, the IATF2021 will provide VFD Group and its portfolio companies an avenue to establish our presence and play within relevant sectors showcase our significant impact in improving the Nigerian economy thereby earning equal recognition within the global investment communities.
“As a group, we are focused on building positive and socially conscious ecosystems, as our business model allow us to operate in major sectors and we understand that with the IATF2021 platform we will be able to attain this and much more across the borders,” he said.
In addition, Okpala said, establishing business-to-business and business-to-government exchange platforms for business deals and advisory services, IATF2021 would focus on Africa’s creative economy as well as the automotive industry with dedicated programmes.
He also noted that a conference would run alongside the exhibition and would feature high-profile speakers and panellists addressing topical issues relating to trade, trade finance, payments, trade facilitation, trade-enabling infrastructure, trade standards, industrialisation, regional value chains and investment.
