Kisumu traders can now book spaces for upcoming AfriCities summit
The groundbreaking ceremony of the Africities Conventional Center at Mamboleo Show Ground in Kisumu on July 5, 2021.
Trading spaces for vendors in the upcoming AfriCities summit in Kisumu are up for grabs.
Players in the hotel, transport and entertainment sectors who plan to sell or promote their services to the thousands of delegates expected at the conference must register online for approval.
To qualify, business owners are required to submit their details on the county's official website, Kisumu Business Bazaar.
AfriCities chair Joe Ager said the online registration will run until May 17, when the international conference begins.
But he noted that the trading spaces will be issued to the businesses on the basis of first come, first served.
“We are urging all interested individuals from the lake region to [register online] so that they are not left out of the international event,” Mr Ager said.
The event will also be a major platform for innovators to showcase their inventions so as to attract investors from across Africa.
“We have identified two key areas – exhibitors of various innovations while the other group will be showcasing their businesses, which will include motor vehicles, leather works, among other products and services,” he said.
He added: “We have not yet come up with a specific number of individuals welcomed to register for the event but we will open to as many businesses as can be comfortably accommodated in the conference.”
Intermediary city
Kisumu will be the first intermediary city to host the international event, which seeks to attract investors from around the world.
The ninth AfriCities summit comes as the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG-Africa) has launched a financial institution to help fund African urban infrastructure and services in preparation for a ballooning population on the continent.
Last month, UCLG-Africa, a pan-African leadership caucus, asked African countries to use the summit to attract more investment to the continent.
The summit will also provide an opportunity to discuss how to prepare for the forthcoming climate change conference (COP27) to be held in Egypt in November this year.
The UCLG-Africa also wants to use the summit to prepare governments for the challenges of urbanisation and its impact on environmental conservation.
