Kigali to host 2nd EAC High-Level Manufacturing Business Summit and Exhibition
East African Community Secretariat; Arusha, Tanzania; 22 February 2017:
The 2nd high-level East African Manufacturing Business Summit and Exhibition (EAMBS) organized by the East African Community (EAC) is scheduled to take place 23rd - 25th May, 2017 in Kigali, Rwanda.
The three-day conference themed "Harnessing the Manufacturing Potential for Sustainable Economic Growth" will bring together top executives in the manufacturing and agri-business sectors, policy and decision makers, as well as key financial institutions from Africa and beyond to dialogue and explore opportunities for investment in manufacturing and agri-business in the EAC region.
The EAMBS will include an exhibition where investors, enterprises, researchers and academia will collectively showcase new products and services as well as exhibit the latest advances in manufacturing technology and innovation, particularly those with relevance to small and medium enterprises (SMEs)
The official opening of the Summit is expected to be presided over by the President of the Republic Rwanda, H.E Paul Kagame
Speaking ahead of the Manufacturing Summit, the Director of Productive Sectors at the EAC Secretariat, Mr. Jean Baptiste Havugimana, said the Summit which is co-organized by the EAC Secretariat, the East African Business Council (EABC) and Government of Rwanda, will provide a strategic platform for an extensive and intensive dialogue on opportunities and challenges of industrialisation in the region.
Mr. Havugimana noted that Summit is a platform borne out of the recognition that sustainable economic growth and development in East Africa is unattainable without creating a vibrant and diversified manufacturing sector.
”The Manufacturing Business Summit marks an important turning point for the future of manufacturing in the region," he added.
The 2nd EAMBS is expected to create greater awareness about the opportunities and challenges arising from the Common Market Protocol for the regional manufacturing sector. It is supposed to serve as a platform not only for initial business contacts, but also for exchange of ideas on how to address the existing challenges in the regional integration process.
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Notes to Editor:
The 2nd high-level Manufacturing Business Summit and Exhibition is the follow up of the 1st Manufacturing Business Summit and Exhibition which took place at the Speke Resort Hotel, Munyonyo in Kampala, Uganda in 2015.
The biannual East African Manufacturing and Business Summit is being organized against a backdrop of economic resurgence and high political commitment to pursue development driven by industrialization. The forum therefore stands to offer an important platform for governments in the region to engage the private sector on critical steps needed to leverage higher levels of investment in manufacturing.
The expected outcome is significant impact on broader socio economic development objectives such as employment creation, technology transfer and wealth creation. The forum seeks to create an avenue for the private sector to advocate and campaign for the acceleration of industrial reforms aimed at improvement of investment conditions in the EAC strategic sectors.
The EAC region has already identified strategic areas for industrial development in the region that bear comparative advantages and where significant private sector investment is needed to unlock potentials. These strategic sectors include: agro-processing and agri-business; mineral processing; pharmaceuticals; construction materials; fertilizers & agro-chemicals as well as the strengthened leather & textiles and automotive sector.
For more information, please contact:
Mr Owora Richard Othieno
Head, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs Department
EAC Secretariat
Arusha, Tanzania
Tel: +255 784 835021
Email: OOthieno [at] eachq.org
About the East African Community Secretariat:
The East African Community (EAC) is a regional intergovernmental organisation of five Partner States, comprising Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda, with its headquarters in Arusha, Tanzania.