Exhibit Africa and events industry consultancy jwc are launching the first edition of the ‘Africa Exhibition Forum’ on 4 and 5 December 2026. The event will be hosted by the Sarit Expo Centre in Nairobi, Kenya, with the support of UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, and UNIDO, the UN specialised agency for industrial development.
The two-day conference will bring together local and international organisers, venue operators, service providers, government stakeholders and investors to specifically discuss the development of the exhibition industry across the African continent.
Of the 81 venues with more than 100,000sqm listed in the latest ‘UFI/jwc World Map of Exhibition Venues’, not one is located in Africa and just five African markets clear the report’s 50,000sqm reporting threshold: South Africa (126,489sqm across six venues), Algeria (76,000sqm), Morocco (60,000sqm), Egypt (55,480 sqm) and Senegal (53,000 sqm). Between them, they report 17 venues and 370,969sqm of space. By contrast, Messe Frankfurt, one of the world’s mega venues, holds 372,073sqm alone.
There is clearly an infrastructure gap between African government policy commitments.
Jochen Witt, chairman, jwc, says: “Africa holds significant potential for the exhibition and business events industry, though it functions as a collection of distinct markets rather than a single, unified landscape. Many of these markets are shaped by deeply rooted ethnic, linguistic, and cultural trading networks, which often drive substantial informal trade outside standard customs channels. Mapping and understanding these authentic trade flows is essential to building a successful exhibition business. At the same time, governments represent a critical stakeholder group. Each of the continent’s 54 nations pursues its own economic agenda, with varying levels of emphasis on how exhibitions and business events contribute to national growth. To bridge this gap, the ‘Africa Exhibition Forum’ (AEF) works to inform governments on the vital role exhibition and business events play in accelerating overall economic development.”
The Forum’s programne is built around three themes. The first is the market: how trade moves across the continent, where the demand actually sits, and what global industry data says about Africa’s position. Naji El Haddad, regional director of UFI, will present data on the economic impact of exhibitions. UNIDO and jwc will present insights from a new study on Africa’s trade show and venue landscape, offering a comparable overview of relevant exhibitions and venues across key markets.
The second theme focuses on government. Business events drive economic growth, raise export revenue, attract investment and develop domestic industries, and the case for public support rests on those returns rather than on the sector’s own advocacy.
The third program pillar is infrastructure. International organisers work to specifications on space, access, logistics and services, and a destination that cannot meet them is ruled out before any commercial discussion starts.
The programme also includes a tour of the Sarit Expo Centre and workshops on the fundamentals of the exhibition business and on the requirements facing African organisers and venues.
Conference speakers include Wolfram Diener, president and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf and UFI president 2026/27; Stefan Kratzsch, PhD, head sustainable investments and responsible business unit, UNIDO; Carole Kadenge, GM of Sarit Expo Centre; Paul Maerz, MD of Fairtrade, and Jamie Hill, CEO of BtoB Events. Further speakers are to be confirmed.
Daniel Mesfin, CEO, Exhibit Africa, says: “We want three things to come out of Nairobi: Quick fixes for the gaps that cost this continent international events today. Agreement on what the industry needs, so that high-quality venues get built faster than they are being built now. And a clear message to the rest of the world that Africa is a growth market to buy into now, not in ten years.”
Registration is open at https://www.liveet.co/e/B8SR8E. Enquiries: aef@exhibit-africa.com
