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Grow With Us60d22hOn Tuesday, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Prof. Chrysostome Ngabitsinze, officially opened the 27th Rwanda International Trade Fair (RITF 2024) at the Private Sector Federation (PSF) Expo Grounds in Gikondo, where he toured several exhibitor stalls.
If you haven’t visited this year’s trade fair yet, now is the time. Organizers revealed that a total of 448 companies are participating in the annual event, reflecting an increase in exhibitors. Of those, 119 are foreign participants representing 17 countries.
Minister Ngabitsinze stated that the expo has grown significantly, transforming into an international attraction while remaining a major showcase for "Made in Rwanda" products and a platform to demonstrate national capabilities to the world.
“What’s special about this year’s Expo is that products from Rwanda are increasing in volume and improving in quality. The expo is also an opportunity to benchmark what we do, collaborate with others, and discover how production can be enhanced,” Dr. Ngabitsinze noted.
“I can say our expo has reached promising and impressive levels of growth, and we are proud of that. We are seeing collaborative efforts between Rwandan businesses and those from elsewhere; business-to-business partnerships are being forged, and our people are also able to learn,” he added.
He pointed out that the expo gives exhibitors a chance to showcase their operations, display new technologies and innovations witnessed during the tour, and leverage available market and business opportunities.
“Exhibitors also meet counterparts from different countries offering diverse products. This directly supports our core focus on growing our manufacturing sector,” he added.
Françoise Mubiligi, PSF Chairperson, noted that this year’s expo is more diverse, bringing together traders from various nations with varied qualities of goods and services—an opportunity for Rwandans to acquire quality products while sharing knowledge and skills.
“International visitors can witness what we are achieving under our Made in Rwanda initiative and identify trade and business opportunities. We are also inspired to see many women exhibiting their work,” Mubiligi said.
“This year we have 448 exhibitors, 329 of whom are local companies and 119 foreign enterprises. This is a massive shift compared to last year’s 412 exhibitors. We anticipate continued growth as the trade fair evolves,” she added, noting that over 300 Rwandan companies participating is a clear sign of private sector expansion.
From leather products to metal, steel, arts, and crafts, Mubiligi highlighted that Rwandans have diversified their manufacturing capabilities, making the expo an ideal venue to engage with external manufacturers and scale up production.
She pointed out that daily attendance averages between 5,000 and 10,000 visitors, surging past 20,000 during weekends. Overall visitor numbers are projected to jump from 300,000 last year to between 400,000 and 450,000 this season.
This represents massive long-term growth from approximately 1,000 daily attendees when the expo started 27 years ago, alongside an expansion in duration from seven days to three full weeks.
As popularity surges, the PSF is exploring the possibility of extending the annual trade fair to a full month in coming years. For admission, children and students pay Rwf 500 at the entrance, while adults pay Rwf 1,000.