It was a beehive of activities and fanfare at the Lagos State Tourism Naijabrand Chick Trade Fair, with hundreds of Lagosians trooping to the venue to pick discounted goods for their use.
Not minding the downpour experienced during the exhibition hours, the shoppers including Muslims, who would be celebrating the Eid-il-Adha on Sunday, June 16, were seen leaving the fair premises with goods they had wished to purchase.
Aside from the shoppers, the trade fair witnessed the influx of topflight exhibitors, government functionaries, culture enthusiasts, and others, who came to witness how indigenous manufacturers and business owners were benefiting from the Lagos State Tourism Naijabrand Chick Trade Fair.
The three-day trade exhibition, which is the first edition, is holding at the Whitestone event centre, Ikeja, was designed by the Lagos State Government and NAIJA Brand Chic (NBC), to promote culture, tourism, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the state.
Addressing pressmen at the venue, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Arts, Culture, and Tourism, Idris Aregbe, noted that the fair was part of the government’s strategy to create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive and connect them with potential buyers.
Aregbe added that the government partnered NBC for the fair to boost the state’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) through which more jobs would be created for Lagos residents.
He said: “I am happy that this is happening as we have envisaged and that my Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, approved this. It is a plus for Lagos and I am proud that we are doing this for tourism and boosting the Lagos Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“Presently, we have over 200 vendors that have come across the country on the ground and many are still asking to join the list of exhibitors here. But, due to the space, we could not take all the numbers that applied to participate in the trade fair.
“What we are doing here is to give SMEs the desired support they have been craving for over the years because that is the role of government.
“We are not competing with business operators rather the role of the government is to create that enabling environment where their business can thrive and that is what we have done here today.
“We have a master plan that we are working on. And the plan is that tourism is not all about events, or entertainment alone, it also includes getting involved in creative and other aspects that can help open Lagos to the world. As we promise to continue playing our part, we expect Lagosians to support the government in the drive to make the state a major destination for tourists globally”.
