Entrepreneurs must take advantage of expos

Emerging women entrepreneurs have been urged to take advantage of expos in order to grow their businesses by reaching a wider audience. 

That, it is believed, would expose young entrepreneurs to the international market through the networking opportunities that expos give exhibitors.

A member of the group organising the ‘Women’s Lifestyle Expo, Ghana,’ Ms Georgina Amoako, noted that expos give wider platforms for emerging entrepreneurs to showcase their products and services and also network.

She made this observation in an interview with The Mirror during the second edition of Women’s Lifestyle Expo 2016 at the Alliance Francaise in Accra, which brought together over 100 exhibitors from Ghana and beyond.

“Expos are not solely meant to drive sales but to network and also help you compare your brand with other competitors. A lot of young starters cannot afford big advertising platforms and, therefore, this expo was meant to target such people,” she noted.

The exhibitors showcased health products, African–made fabrics, home appliances and traditional artefacts, among others.

In an interaction with some exhibitors they expressed mixed reactions on sales.

Delphine Dogbegah, CEO of Bead Afrique, which specialises in hand-made beads, noted that sales had not been massive and attributed it to poor media campaign prior to the expo.

She said the expo had however exposed her to a lot of networking opportunities which she hoped to leverage on in due course.

Mrs Abena Dapaah, Managing Director of Japad Brass and Casting Works, said sales had been relatively good and hoped it would improve as the days went by.

Women’s Lifestyle Expo, Ghana is a marketing-oriented event specifically tailored to bring women entrepreneurs together on one platform.

It also aims at creating opportunity for exhibitors to learn, network and also create visibility for themselves and their businesses.

The maiden edition of the expo which took place last year was patronised by over 75 exhibitors and attracted over 3,000 visitors.