CBS PEWOSA Trade Fair 2018 making waves after its conclusion

The Uganda Cottage And Industries Trade Fair, known to most as CBS PEWOSA expo is an 8-day event that ran from 27th March 2018 and was concluded on Tuesday, 3rd April 2018 at Muteesa II Memorial Grounds Wankulukuku, in Kampala, from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm.

From the success of the CBS PEWOSA trade fair last week, there has already chatter amongst this year’s small business owners, entrepreneurs and other participants about plans for next year’s trade fair and the way forward from the trade fair.

Most of this talk is about drumming up more clientele for similar workshops that were held at the trade fair. These trade fair workshops were informative and provided crucial details to help farmers make higher profits cheaply.

During this CBS PEWOSA trade fair exhibition, there were a number of activities including; small-scale industries’ expo, farmers’, corporate and business workshops on cattle farming, piggery, poultry farming, small and commercial matooke farming, etc.

The entry fee was affordable for all in attendance including the business owners who were paying 20,000 Uganda shillings entry fee. Knowledge was shared at the trade fair on animal feed and innovations that can be used to increase productivity in the different varieties of farming and the importance of agricultural insurance.

The CBS PEWOSA trade fair never fails to showcase youth and their potential to become successful entrepreneurs.

This event was made possible by CBS, PEWOSA, Stromme Foundation which organized the entire trade fair and ensured that ran smoothly. Many other organizations contributed to the success of the trade fair through sponsorship including Riham, Pepsi, URA, NSSF, KCCA, iRA, BBS terefayina, Big Pig, etc.

The trade fair had an adequate platform to showcase Ugandan-made products in the food and beverage industry with products like coffee, fruit juice, wine and porridge, etc.

The other products exhibited by business owners included African made fabric and fashion, Ugandan handcrafted jewellery and accessories, the solar-powered Kayoola bus, etc. Small business traders with new products for the market in the food and beverage industry said that they were facing a problem with potential customers for their products.

They said that most often than not customers are only inclined to buy a product after seeing that it has a certification stamp from UNBS.

This, they say, presents an issue with UNBS that insists that it will certify a product only after it has been marketed and the endless cycle continues as marketing and selling products without a UNBS stamp is a feat Initially, organisers wanted to tap into a new wave of ‘corporate farming’ through the display of state-of-the-art technology and improved yields but the increased demand for other products has left the farming aspect fighting for its place in the trade fair.

The low entry fees ensured that organisers leave anyone behind and the venue was filled to the brim. The business workshops, which mainly focus on farming, remained popular and operated almost non-stop due to multiple bookings.

Experts offered workshops on topics ranging from making your own pesticides cheaply to do-it-yourself techniques of making silage and farm feed from cassava peelings.

Away from the workshops, there were talks given by various government institutions present like KCCA, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), Uganda Retirement and Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA) teaching the public about essentials such as taxation of farming and retirement planning respectively.

Image Credit by 88.8 CBS FM