The global COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted economies worldwide, including East Africa. Lockdown measures, travel restrictions, and supply chain disruptions led to declining international trade and investment.
East African businesses showed resilience, adaptability, and a willingness to explore new avenues for growth. With its renowned trade fair market, Germany stands out as a favoured destination due to its reputation for excellence, innovation, and vast business opportunities.
Germany boasts a robust trade fair industry known for its world-class infrastructure, industry-specific events, and diverse exhibitors and attendees. The country hosts numerous internationally recognised trade fairs encompassing diverse sectors such as manufacturing, technology, automotive, agriculture, etc.

AUMA (the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry) highlighted current trends and prospects in the trade fair business in its annual publication, “AUMA Trends 2023/2024”. According to the report, Germany registered more than 141,000 exhibitors and 7.6 million visitors. More than 60% of leading global trade fairs occur in Germany, home to four out of the world’s ten largest exhibition grounds. These are Hannover, Frankfurt am Main, Cologne, and Düsseldorf.

Abyssinia group of companies who exhibited in Wire & Tube 2022 in Dusseldorf
As the official representative for Messe Duesseldorf in East Africa, we support businesses to showcase their products and services on a global platform. For these companies, German trade fairs provide an invaluable window into the global marketplace.
These events facilitate invaluable networking and exposure and empower businesses to stay competitive in a dynamic global market. The embrace of German trade fairs marks a turning point for East African businesses, as they unlock doors to endless opportunities and solidify their position on the world stage.

East African delegation to K trade fair in Düsseldorf, Germany
Looking ahead, we are excited about the prospects of welcoming even more visitors and exhibitors from East Africa to Germany’s prestigious trade fairs.
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