The Uganda International Trade Fair will be opening today at the Uganda Manufactures Association (UMA) show grounds.
This year the fair is set to celebrate 30 years, and according to Eddie Senkumba, UMA Chairman Communications, they are going to make the celebrations worth it, but while at it, focus on the future as well.
For example, this year there are pavilions that have been carefully curated to tap into people the celebrations have been leaving on the sidelines for years.
Senkumba says to have a pavilion curated with the intention of encouraging more women to join the sector as manufacturers.
“Men make about 92 percent of the registered manufacturers; we would like to see more women come up,” he says.
With the intention of overseeing continuity and inspiring future manufacturers, this year, another pavilion will be dedicated to younger people; here they will get a chance to speak to professionals and get some career guidance.
Another pavilion will be dedicated to agriculture because it is the backbone of Uganda’s economy.
However, besides manufacturing, Senkumba says this year, they are collaborating with the arts industry to make the 30 anniversary of the fare more engaging. With a lineup of artists Winnie Nwagi, Dax Cartel, and Amooti Omubalanguzi’s new lineup of Amarula Family, Senkuba says they have curated a stage for performances.
Amooti is credited for popularising sketch comedy in the late 1990s and early 2000s with their out fit Amarula Family. At the time, comedy was yet to pick up the way it has today; thus, Amarula Family was pioneering something unique.
Later this year, still at UMA main hall, he will be celebrating 25 years of making Ugandans laugh, and that’s also the time he will present the new line-up of the Amarula Family.
The annual fair is expected to be opened by President Yoweri Museveni, and Senkumba notes that they are coming together with the Uganda Police and the UPDF to ensure that Ugandans are safe.
Ugandans were urged to avoid carrying food and objects that could be deemed harmful.
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