Trade fairs in Africa

Africa has no single trade fair center. Business is organized around a handful of national and regional hubs, from the Maghreb to West and East Africa and the Cape, each with its own fairgrounds and its own industries.

North Africa lies across the Mediterranean from Europe, and Casablanca, Algiers and Tunis host many of its exhibitions. Morocco is known for its automotive, aerospace and textile industries, while Algeria is known for its oil and gas. In Algiers, ALGEST, an industry and subcontracting show in November, brings industrial operators and subcontractors together and Algeria Dental Expo, also in November, serves the dental trade in Algeria, while in Oran HOSTEX Expo covers hospitality and foodservice. In Tunis, SIAT is an international exhibition in October on agricultural investment and technology, extending to fishing.

West and East Africa work differently. Lagos is the commercial center of Nigeria, where Nigeria Energy gathers buyers, suppliers, regulators and investors from the power sector in October. On the Indian Ocean, Dar es Salaam is the main port and business city of Tanzania, with shows such as Autoexpo Tanzania for vehicles, spare parts and accessories, held in November.

In the south, Cape Town hosts shows at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, among them Propak Cape for packaging, processing, plastics, printing and labelling, held in October. In Cairo, Cairo ICT covers technology and Cairo WoodShow the wood trade, both in November.

The sector pages for industry and manufacturing and energy and environment list the fairs in these fields across the continent.