Scores of Distributors in Nigeria Meet Top Chinese Suppliers

Scores of Distributors in Nigeria Meet Top Chinese Suppliers

Many visitors attending the first printer, copier, and supplies expo in Lagos, Nigeria, wanted to know how the organizers found and invited them to the April 22 event.

Over three-quarters of the 104 attendees have not purchased from China or have never visited Zhuhai, where many of the 34 exhibitors are based.

The visitors represented 68 leading importers and distributors of printing and copying devices and supplies across Nigeria. Comexposium RT, the organizer of the one-day VIP Expo, had spent months researching to develop the latest up-to-date buyer database from various government and customs reports. “We found 132 people altogether in Nigeria, most of whom had never heard of our company or events,” said International Events and Communication Director David Gibbons.

“This event brought the VIP buyers and suppliers together for an intense one-day event’” he added. “We had suppliers from both China and India. The buyers, however, currently import from other places, including Europe, the USA, Japan and South Korea, among other places, and were eager to look for new sources of products.”

Those exhibitors who were kept the busiest had used the database supplied by the organisers to pre-arrange appointments with the buyers. “A unique feature of this VIP Expo model is that every exhibitor is given a full list of expected attendees ten days before the expo,” Gibbons explained. “We provide an updated list within a week after the expo is completed as well.”

According to the newly appointed Vice-General Manager of the Zhuhai-based organiser, Cecile Zheng, the exhibitors were promised at least 50 large VIP distribution companies, most of whom would be new potential customers for the VIP supplier exhibitors. “We delivered 36% more of that promised target,” she said.

The VIP Expo will run for one day in each of three cities: Lagos (Nigeria), Nairobi (Kenya), and Dubai (UAE), with a few days in between each event in April. 150 importing and distribution companies and 200 visitors will visit more than 40 unique exhibitors in two or three events.

Each event is held in 5-star hotel properties. All visitors and exhibitors have a working lunch, continuous coffee and tea, and a cocktails banquet. This provides a relaxed environment all day to engage in business.

Gustavo Molinatti, who has partnered with Comexposium RT to run a successful VIP Expo model in Latin America in 2019 and 2023, trained a local partner in Lagos to contact each potential visitor. They made hundreds of calls to invite the elite businesses in Nigeria, Africa’s fastest—growing country.

Over 14 days in June, exhibitor-suppliers and visitor-buyers will again participate in VIP Expos in three more cities in Latin America: Santiago (Chile), Sao Paulo (Brazil) and Lima (Peru).

The organizer has also run the RemaxWorld Expo in Zhuhai for 18 years. This year’s three-day expo will be held from October 17 to 19, 2024.

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