AFRICA - An Italian-led event is heading to East Africa in 2014 aiming to boost medium scale enterprise in the packaging and processing sector.
The as yet unnamed exhibition, a collaboration between The East African Community (EAC); United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and Ipack-Ima, one of Italy’s leading organisers of exhibitions for the processing and packaging technology industries, will hold an exhibition in Nairobi, Kenya, in September 2014.
The agreement to organise a major processing and packaging exhibition was signed in Vienna last week by secretary general of EAC, Dr Richard Sezibera; the director general of UNIDO, Dr Kandeh K Yumkella (pictured); and the CEO of Ipack-Ima, Dr Guido Corbella.
“The event marks a major milestone in addressing one of the key challenges of the agro-processing, pharmaceuticals and other strategic sectors of our industrial policy,” said Dr Sezibera. “We anticipate that a good number of companies, including SMEs will have the opportunity to access appropriate packaging and processing technologies.”
The partnership will bring new processing and packaging technologies closer to industries, with particular benefits expected for small and medium scale enterprises in East Africa, according to Dr Yumkella.
“It will also help analyse the current situation of different technologies in the field of processing and packaging in the EAC Partner States and identify potential opportunities for industrial development,” he added.
“The signing of this agreement is an impressive result for our company,” said Ipack-Ima spa CEO Corbella. “The packaging industry is a key sector of the world’s economy, and can make a substantial contribution to providing healthy and more plentiful food for everyone. As much as 60 per cent of the total food produced globally deteriorates, or goes wasted, due to the lack of proper processing and packaging.
“The fact that UNIDO and EAC have chosen Ipack-Ima as their partner in this ambitious project is the result of our continuous commitment to promoting processing and packaging technologies,” Corbella claimed.
The Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) is hosting what it claims is the first international toy and game trade fair ever held on the African continent in 2013.
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