BIGGER AND BETTER: Ongwediva town council spokesperson, Jackson Muma. PHOTO: CONTRIBUTED
BIGGER AND BETTER: Ongwediva town council spokesperson, Jackson Muma. PHOTO: CONTRIBUTED

OATF bounces back from Covid-19

Promoting trade and fostering business networks
The decision to add a virtual component to the trade fair last year was met with praise.
Enzo Amuele
The Ongwediva Annual Trade Fair (OATF) is returning this year for its second edition since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Last year, after a two-year hiatus, the trade fair society was inspired to host a hybrid fair.

Jackson Muma, Ongwediva town council spokesperson, said careful consideration was given before organising the 2022 trade fair.

"We conducted research and concluded with a decision to host a hybrid trade fair – both virtual and physical," Muma said.

Muma highlighted that the inclusion of a virtual component to the trade fair was one of the major highlights of the 2022 OATF, receiving positive feedback from exhibitors and the public alike.

"When we engaged our sponsors, they came on board to exhibit virtually, and it worked for us. However, when we did an analysis, we found that we needed to do more education on virtual fairs to have more visitors on the platform and exhibitors," he said.

The hybrid trade fair was the first of its kind in Namibia.



An unexpected success

Muma said the 2022 OATF was a big success, and it surpassed their expectations in terms of visitor numbers.

"We ended up having close to 90 000 visitors during the 2022 OATF, which we did not expect, and our projection for exhibitors was 350, but we had 368 exhibitors, with a long list of exhibitors that we could not accommodate."

He emphasised that this outcome clearly demonstrates the appeal of the OATF as an event that people are eager to be a part of, highlighting its primary objectives of promoting trade, facilitating exhibitions, and fostering business networking.



Learn from each other

Muma also highlighted the challenge they face regarding limited space, as they often receive a significant number of exhibitors who cannot all be accommodated.

"We might need to expand our facilities to accommodate all the exhibitors who want to participate in OATF," he said.

Furthermore, he emphasised the importance of collaboration and mutual learning among trade fairs. Muma cited the agreement between the Ongwediva Trade Fair Society and the Okakarara Trade Fair Society as an example, specifically in the field of agriculture, where they can exchange knowledge and experiences.

The 2023 OATF gala dinner raised over N$1 million in funding, and 450 exhibitors are expected to showcase their products and services this year at the trade fair.

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Katima Mulilo: 19° | 36° Rundu: 19° | 37° Eenhana: 18° | 37° Oshakati: 18° | 36° Ruacana: 18° | 36° Tsumeb: 24° | 35° Otjiwarongo: 18° | 34° Omaruru: 17° | 34° Windhoek: 18° | 31° Gobabis: 19° | 33° Henties Bay: 12° | 18° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 07:34, High tide: 13:58, Low Tide: 20:05, High tide: 02:00 Swakopmund: 13° | 15° Wind speed: 28km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 07:32, High tide: 13:56, Low Tide: 20:03, High tide: 02:00 Walvis Bay: 12° | 19° Wind speed: 28km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 07:32, High tide: 13:55, Low Tide: 20:03, High tide: 02:00 Rehoboth: 18° | 33° Mariental: 20° | 35° Keetmanshoop: 17° | 32° Aranos: 20° | 36° Lüderitz: 12° | 19° Ariamsvlei: 19° | 34° Oranjemund: 13° | 21° Luanda: 24° | 26° Gaborone: 16° | 28° Lubumbashi: 19° | 35° Mbabane: 9° | 20° Maseru: 9° | 26° Antananarivo: 13° | 30° Lilongwe: 19° | 23° Maputo: 15° | 26° Windhoek: 18° | 31° Cape Town: 15° | 26° Durban: 14° | 19° Johannesburg: 14° | 23° Dar es Salaam: 24° | 30° Lusaka: 18° | 29° Harare: 16° | 21° Currency: GBP to NAD 22.96 | EUR to NAD 19.17 | CNY to NAD 2.47 | USD to NAD 17.6 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.28 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.66 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.15 | RUB to NAD 0.18 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 132.94 | USD to AOA 909.05 | USD to BWP 13.33 | USD to EGP 48.49 | USD to KES 128.5 | USD to NGN 1625.33 | USD to ZAR 17.61 | USD to ZMW 26.4 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1860.17 Up +0.28% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 14048.66 Down -0.38% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 30273.06 Up +1.06% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 652.48/OZ UP +0.11% | Copper US$ 4.32/lb DOWN -0.0131 | Zinc US$ 3 009.80/T DOWN -2.63% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 74.65/BBP DOWN -0.0104 | Platinum US$ 980.95/OZ DOWN -0.0113 Sport results: Weather: Katima Mulilo: 19° | 36° Rundu: 19° | 37° Eenhana: 18° | 37° Oshakati: 18° | 36° Ruacana: 18° | 36° Tsumeb: 24° | 35° Otjiwarongo: 18° | 34° Omaruru: 17° | 34° Windhoek: 18° | 31° Gobabis: 19° | 33° Henties Bay: 12° | 18° Wind speed: 21km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 07:34, High tide: 13:58, Low Tide: 20:05, High tide: 02:00 Swakopmund: 13° | 15° Wind speed: 28km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 07:32, High tide: 13:56, Low Tide: 20:03, High tide: 02:00 Walvis Bay: 12° | 19° Wind speed: 28km/h, Wind direction: W, Low tide: 07:32, High tide: 13:55, Low Tide: 20:03, High tide: 02:00 Rehoboth: 18° | 33° Mariental: 20° | 35° Keetmanshoop: 17° | 32° Aranos: 20° | 36° Lüderitz: 12° | 19° Ariamsvlei: 19° | 34° Oranjemund: 13° | 21° Luanda: 24° | 26° Gaborone: 16° | 28° Lubumbashi: 19° | 35° Mbabane: 9° | 20° Maseru: 9° | 26° Antananarivo: 13° | 30° Lilongwe: 19° | 23° Maputo: 15° | 26° Windhoek: 18° | 31° Cape Town: 15° | 26° Durban: 14° | 19° Johannesburg: 14° | 23° Dar es Salaam: 24° | 30° Lusaka: 18° | 29° Harare: 16° | 21° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 22.96 | EUR to NAD 19.17 | CNY to NAD 2.47 | USD to NAD 17.6 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.28 | EGP to NAD 0.35 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.66 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.15 | RUB to NAD 0.18 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 132.94 | USD to AOA 909.05 | USD to BWP 13.33 | USD to EGP 48.49 | USD to KES 128.5 | USD to NGN 1625.33 | USD to ZAR 17.61 | USD to ZMW 26.4 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1860.17 Up +0.28% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 14048.66 Down -0.38% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 30273.06 Up +1.06% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 652.48/OZ UP +0.11% | Copper US$ 4.32/lb DOWN -0.0131 | Zinc US$ 3 009.80/T DOWN -2.63% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 74.65/BBP DOWN -0.0104 | Platinum US$ 980.95/OZ DOWN -0.0113