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‘How exhibitions foster public-private partnership deals’

By Godstime Madojemu
10 July 2018   |   3:25 am
Elan Expo, like I stated, has organised trade events across many countries in the world. Specifically, we are responsible for organising The Big 5 North Africa, the Largest Expo on building construction on the continent and a host of other high value trade shows across the world.

Mr. Jude Chime is the Project Coordinator of Elan Expo in Nigeria. Elan Expo is a trade events outfit that has over the last 25 years organised trade shows and expos in several countries in the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa. In this interview with Godstime Madojemu, he speaks on the various activities surrounding the Elan Expo slated for Lagos, today.

How would you describe your activities so far?
Elan Expo, like I stated, has organised trade events across many countries in the world. Specifically, we are responsible for organising The Big 5 North Africa, the Largest Expo on building construction on the continent and a host of other high value trade shows across the world. We successfully organised other trade shows like West Africa Heating Ventilation, Air Conditioning (HVAC) Expo, BUILD Expo, Décor Expo, Agrofood Expo and the Beauty and Hygiene Expo.

What is MegaClima all about and why now?
MegaClima is a series of exhibitions specially designed and organised for the HVAC and Refrigeration industry. Through its network, MegaClima aims to bring periodically, together the industry’s manufacturers and decision makers with local governments, contractors, architects, engineers and property developers in strategically selected regions. 

It is about shaping the future of HVAC+R (Heating Ventilation, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration) sector in West Africa. We held a successful first event last year and we have decided that we must expand the frontiers of HVAC technologies in West Africa with Nigeria as the main Hub of business, which is why we brought the HVAC Expo under the MegaClima umbrella. Our goal is to gather professionals, government policy makers and traders under one roof to grow this very important subsector of the economy. The expo will hold from July 10 to 12 at the Landmark centre from 10 am to 6 pm daily. I must also note that this event is collocated and will run simultaneously with the West Africa Water Treatment and Technologies Expo WAWE 2018 the first of its kind in Nigeria and West Africa. We are proud to be leading these innovative strides at this time

How many exhibitors and visitors are you expecting during the Expo?
Over 50 major brands are going to be represented from 15 countries. We had a good show with over 3,000 visitors last year and we are expecting over 5,000 visitors this year. Major brands like LG, Samsung, DAIKIN, and a lot of others will be at the event showcasing all kinds of air-conditioning and heating systems, spare parts of these systems will also be on display, there will be several mechanical and parts and components on display for those who are dealers and bulk end-users to choose from.

As I earlier mentioned, the event is collocated with the West Africa Water Treatment and Technologies Expo WAWE 2018. This is definitely going to give great traction to the event as all 36 states of the federation including the FCT are sending in representatives. We will also have local manufacturers and developers who are huge buyers in this sector. Hoteliers, water companies, waste water professionals and a host of others will also be on ground. It is going to be a show to behold!

What are the benefits of this expo to Nigeria’s economy?
MegaClima alone is going to boost the economy by bringing in N1.5 billion worth of investments, especially for companies who are seeking new distributors and partners in the country. With WAWE, we are looking at another N1billion worth of trade and foreign investment. What this translates to is that distributors, retailers and professional users can all begin to get quality prices and enjoy access to manufacturers.

We are also going to boost the value chain of the water sector and affiliated sectors through new public and private partnership agreements, which we anticipate at the event. The stakeholders are giddy about the prospects of getting projects with partnerships from the foreign brands that are coming in for the event. We did such last year and the participants are already looking forward to a greater experience this year. Remember we are also bringing in Professional trainers who will empower our local technicians with skills that enhance their workmanship.

What have been the challenges of putting this expo together?
We have scaled through most hitches because we have had maximum cooperation from all of our major supporters and sponsors. We are proud to have ASHRAE Nigeria Chapter, NiMechE, COREN and NSE that have all thrown their weight behind us to help with logistics and planning. We also appreciate the help of the Various Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies Including the Federal Ministry of Water Resources as well as those of the 36 states, the Lagos State Water Corporation and Standards Organisation of Nigeria, among others. We are very hopeful for a great show..

What other information about the expo?
We look forward to helping our businesses in Nigeria to reach their potential growth levels with MegaClima and WAWE 2018. We are not just featuring new products and technologies, we are also going to have a water conference, which will feature seasoned professionals, technocrats, and business people discuss around the theme: “Re-Engineering Nigeria’s Water Sector.”

MegaClima is also going to feature a workshop, which will host two international experts and a whole lot of local facilitators, including government representatives. We would therefore, like people to come not just to do business, but to learn and expand the frontiers of the HVAC+R sector in Nigeria and West Africa as a whole.

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