East Africa: Kigali to Host 26th EAC Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Trade Fair

The East African Community (EAC) will bring its flagship Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Trade Fair to Kigali in late October, as regional policymakers seek to accelerate industrialisation, strengthen local supply chains and reduce dependence on imports.

The 26th edition of the EAC MSMEs Trade Fair will run from October 30 to November 8, 2026, following a decision by the bloc's Sectoral Council on Trade, Industry, Finance and Investment. The event reflects a growing focus among East African governments on developing regional value chains and creating jobs through targeted industrial expansion.

This year's fair will spotlight leather and horticulture, two sectors viewed as critical to the region's industrial ambitions. While participation remains open to businesses from other industries, policymakers see both sectors as offering significant opportunities for import substitution, export growth and employment creation.

The choice of leather is underpinned by a widening gap between demand and local production. A recent mid-term review of the EAC Leather Strategy showed regional footwear demand more than doubled to nearly 290 million pairs in 2024 from 130 million pairs in 2017.

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But local manufacturers produce only about 17 million pairs annually, leaving much of the market supplied by imports. Demand is projected to reach 385 million pairs by the end of the decade.

Connect investors, producers and buyers

For regional manufacturers, the imbalance represents a substantial industrial opportunity. Organisers say the fair will connect investors, producers and buyers while promoting East African leather brands under initiatives such as Buy Made in East Africa.

Horticulture, meanwhile, remains central to the region's economic prospects. Agriculture contributes more than a quarter of East Africa's gross domestic product and supports millions of livelihoods. The sector is increasingly viewed as a source of export earnings and value-added growth, particularly as producers adopt new technologies and seek compliance with international quality standards.

Annette Ssemuwemba, the EAC Deputy Secretary General for Customs, Trade and Monetary Affairs, said the trade fair would bring together entrepreneurs, investors, policymakers, researchers and development partners, creating a platform for business development, innovation and knowledge sharing.

"It will also promote the consumption of locally produced goods as part of broader efforts to strengthen domestic industries and enhance regional competitiveness," she said.

Alongside the trade fair, Kigali will host the EAC Quality Awards 2026, which recognise enterprises demonstrating excellence in standards compliance, innovation and quality management.

For the EAC, the twin events are part of a broader effort to build stronger regional industries, increase intra-African trade and position local enterprises to capture a greater share of the region's growing consumer market.

Last year, the trade fair was held in Nairobi, Kenya, focusing on advancing innovation and regional value chains for competitive MSMEs towards sustainable development.

World Swahili Day

Meanwhile, Burundi will host the fifth World Swahili Language Day celebrations and the third international conference of the East African Kiswahili Commission (KAKAMA) from July 5 to 7, bringing together delegates from across East Africa and beyond to discuss the future of Kiswahili in the era of artificial intelligence.

The conference, which precedes World Swahili Language Day on July 7, will gather representatives from East African Community partner states including Burundi, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, and Tanzania, as well as international organisations, diplomats, academics, civil society and private sector stakeholders.

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This year's theme, "Kiswahili, Multilingualism and Artificial Intelligence," reflects growing regional efforts to expand the role of African languages in emerging technologies such as machine translation, speech recognition and large language models.

World Swahili Language Day, observed annually on July 7, was first proclaimed by UNESCO in 2021, making Kiswahili the first African language to receive an international day within the United Nations system. It was later endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 2024.

Kiswahili is now an official language of the African Union and the East African Community and is also used within the Southern African Development Community, underscoring its growing regional and international role.