BUSINESS GUIDE was awarded a special ‘Certificate of Appreciation’ by the organisers of PlastPack Africa for promoting their exhibition amongst participants and visitors. As the Official Media partner for PlastPack Africa, BUSINESS GUIDE played an important role in promoting the event amongst the African business community.
Held at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi, Plast Pack Africa, the first international trade fair on plastics, packaging and rubber industry in Africa, presented an excellent opportunity for manufacturers, suppliers to meet the traders, distributors, agents, importers from the East , Central & West African countries.
Organised by Dubai-based Al Fajer Information and Services, PlastPack Africa offered unlimited business opportunities in the ever growing plastics industry of Africa. The unique exhibition attracted exhibitors from all across the world and provided an ideal platform for manufacturers, traders and exporters to reach their targetted audience in over 50 African countries.
The plastics industry in Africa has been experiencing a boom in recent times – demand for plastic products has been at an average of 15-20% every year. The growing demand for plastic goods and machinery has been spurred by economic reforms and sustained economic development in many African countries.
PlastPack Africa aims to bring together buyers and sellers of plastic goods, machinery and equipment. The exhbition is the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa. Companies from Taiwan, Turkey, Malaysia, Thailand, Syria, South Africa, India, Pakistan, Germany, United Kingdom, United States, Nigeria, Uganda, Ethiopia, the Sudan, Eritrea, Ghana, United Arab Emirates participated in this exhibition.
African 
countries have been importing ever increasing quantities of a wide range of plastic goods like plastic moulded furniture, plastics houseware items, wovern sacks, bags, ropes, plastric shoes, PVC pipes/fittings/electrical fittings, PET Preforms, plumbing and drainage systems, plastic building materials, toothbrushes and a variety of plastic household products.
Being the only specialised exhibition of its kind in the region, PlastPack Africa attracted a lot of interest from African countries. Visitors from all across the African continent attended the exhibition in search of new sources of supply. The nascent manufacturing sector in several African countries is also a huge market for machinery and plant equipment for manufactring plastic goods. In recent years, African countries have been buying large quantities of conversion technologies like extruder, injectiion molding, blow molding, roto molding and thermo forming.
WHY KENYA
Kenya is recognised as east Africa’s trading and distribution hub. Goods imported into Kenya through its principal port of Mombasa are distributed througout the East African region. As a result, Kenya is now recognised as the gateway for merchandise arriving from the Middle East, the Indian sub-continent, Europe and the far East.
“There are more than 70 plastic industries in Kenya with capacities 
ranging from 1,000 to 8,000 tonnes per year,” said Petkay Miritu, Kenya’s assistant minister of Trade and Indusrty during his inauguration speech. “Most of these industries are located in Nairobi and Mombasa, with a few in Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret and Thika. The plastic industries sub-sector has benefitted from the new technological changes that have occurred in the manufacturing industries combined with the poistive shift in demand for plastic products. The overall result has been increased production and huge demand for plastic products,” he said.
“It is gratifying to know that Plastpack Africa has brought to Kenya a wide variety of products, machinery and equipment by holding this exhibition in Kenya,” said the assistant minister of trade and industry. The exhibitors will be able to reach their targetted audience in Kenya and other parts of Africa. I urge Kenyan and other business communities present at PlastPack Africa to take advantage of this opportunity and interact with the manufacturers and suppliers to make contacts for future business,” he said.
Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC), the venue for PlastPack Africa is one of the most sophisticated facilities of its kind in East Africa. It has played host to many regional and internationa exhbitions and trade fairs.
“Plastpack Africa proved to a a big success and we are now planning the next event,” says Satish Khanna, general manager of Al Fajer Information and Services. “The exhibitors at PlastPack were able to establish direct contacts with their business counterparts in emerging African markets and the next PlastPack Africa will be an even bigger event than the last one,” he said.
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