The 9th edition of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) Banking and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Fair will be held from November 2 to 5 in Dakar, Senegal in margin of the Local Consuming Month, the AIB has learned from official sources.
The 9th edition of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) Banks and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Fair will be held from November 2 to 5 in Dakar, Senegal, in accordance with the annual and rotating nature of the Fair in UEMOA member states, on the sidelines of Local Consuming Month, the AIB learned on Friday, through a press release from the Institution.
According to the press release, the 9th will place particular emphasis on sharing country experiences on local consumption, the promotion of value chains, innovative solutions from umbrella organizations, SMEs and local authorities for the revitalization of economies, in to create more wealth and jobs.
This year's edition will be held under the theme: Support and financing of AOPs and SMEs in WAEMU, in a context of resilience and economic recovery”.
"The choice of Dakar was confirmed following the working visit of the Permanent Secretary, from June 10 to 20, 2023 in Dakar and it is Senegal's turn to host the 2023 edition and Guinea Bissau to close the tour. in 2024,” the statement said.
The press document continued that the Chairman of the Steering Committee, who is also Director of SMEs, praised the course of the Fair and the commitment of the Permanent Secretariat to hold the 9th in Dakar, capital of Senegal.
For him, this fits perfectly with the vision of the Minister of Trade, Local Consumption and SMEs, Abdou Karim Fofana, who declared 2023 the year of SMEs.
The statement said that the Secretary General of the Ministry of Trade, Consumer Affairs and SMEs, on behalf of the Minister, congratulated the rotating initiative of the UEMOA Banks and SMEs Fair.
He was delighted with the choice of Dakar to host this 9th and announced that his ministry will lend its full support to the organization of the Fair, under the leadership of the minister, government spokesman, Abdou Karim Fofana, with the accompaniment of the DPME and the structures responsible for supervising SMEs.
"I would like to thank the Permanent Secretariat, which has been resilient, for the flexibility and willingness to involve the ministries in charge of SMEs as well as the community institutions, to succeed in the challenge of making Dakar 2023 the capital of SMEs in the UEMOA”, indicated the Director of SMEs, Seydina Aboubacar Sadikh N'Diaye.
For him, the Dakar edition, which will be organized with his management, will contribute to making Senegal an investment hub for SMEs and the crossroads of finance in sub-Saharan Africa.
The press release specifies that SMEs and banks are expected to play an important role in the development of trade between African countries, in the transformation of African economies, in the promotion of innovative financing.
He underlined that in 8 editions held successively since 2015, more than 27,370 participants and visitors, 144 thematic panels, 758 exhibitors from 32 countries, 1,578 B to B meetings, 200 SME award winners, 521 innovative projects , 397 pitches.
"160 resolutions and recommendations made to Heads of State, sub-regional and international institutions, ministries in charge of SMEs, financing and support structures, local private and civil society communities, minorities, vulnerable groups,” he said.
As a reminder, out of the 8 countries that make up WAEMU, 6 countries have already hosted the WAEMU Banking and SME Fair, in particular Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger and Togo.
Source: Burkina Information Agency