Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
Africa’s leading financial institution, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc is set to play host to over 20,000 visitors, 100 small and medium enterprises and leading private and public sector players from across Africa, at the continent’s biggest entrepreneurial fair tagged #theUBAmarketplace2019 in Abuja, Nigeria.
The event which is scheduled to hold on July 26th and 27th 2019, on the sideline of the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Forum, the largest gathering of the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Africa, will host businesses and business owners in various industries ranging from food, fashion, beauty, home/interior and gadgets.
The event will offer plenary sessions and discussions on the small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) sector and the relevance of financing. The plenary sessions will highlight entertainment and music industries. Likewise, fashion, a big cultural and revenue attraction on the continent, will be showcased with the designs of 10 leading African labels.
At the master-class sessions to be held during the UBAmarketplace2019, small and medium scale businesses will have opportunity to network and get solutions to some of the challenges they face in running their businesses.
Also, selected beneficiaries of the Tony Elumelu Foundation will be presented a platform to pitch their businesses with a grand prize of a grant, courtesy of UBA.
The Group Managing Director, Kennedy Uzoka, speaking about the event, stated “UBA has always been at the forefront of entrepreneurship across Africa, undertaking many projects aimed at contributing to supporting Africa’s growth and economic integration. The birth of the UBAmarketplace and this entrepreneurial fair is a testament to our commitment to African SMEs”
Uzoka added that with the fair, UBA seeks to touch base with small business owners while positively affecting the lives of entrepreneurs doing business in its countries of operations and beyond’.
“I think everyone realises the fact that we need to prioritise the private sector. We need to encourage entrepreneurship and the youths. This is the driving factor and the major reason why we are organizing an event of this magnitude’ he said.
UBA’s REDTV will light up the Redzone at the UBA marketplace with entertainment featuring Africa’s star boy Wizkid; DJ Cuppy and many more.
