In few days to come, the 48th Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair, also known as Saba Saba will take effect. The fair, scheduled to run for two weeks from 28th June to 13th July 2024 is conducted in the largest East African city, Dar es Salaam which has more than 5.5million residents.
Saba Saba is one of the oldest trade fair in East Africa and hence attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors and exhibitors. Starting right after the Tanzania independence, the central tenet of the fair, the 7th of July – which gives its name (Saba Saba translates to Seven Seven in English) emanated from pre-independence days when the Tanganyika National Union party (TANU) was formed in 7th of July 1954. SabaSaba is a day that commemorates an important event on Tanzania’s journey to statehood.
After independence in 1961, and the union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar which resulted in Tanzania in 1964, the day was proclaimed a public holiday and used to promote the then political ideology “Siasa ni Kilimo” (“politics is agriculture”) as part of enhancing the importance of farmer’s and worker’s contribution to Tanzania’s economic growth.
Since then, the day was used to exhibit agricultural products at regional headquarters including Dar es Salaam, which has grown overtime to be the international trade fair. The day was censored as a public holiday in 1993 after Tanzania adopted the multi-party system and has since then been promoted as an important day for international trade fair.
According to the Tanzania Trade Authority (TanTrade), an official government body charged with promotion of business both internally and externally, this year SabaSaba expects to attract International exhibitors from more than 40 countries and will be showcasing various products and services ranging from technology, hospitality, building technology, transport, medical services, agriculture, fashion, food processing, cosmetics, hardware, mining, packaging to electronics. Exhibitors will be competing to attract attention of the potential visitors – millions of residents in Dar, and more important visitors and business persons from nearby countries such as Rwanda, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia and Malawi.
The importance of Dar es Salaam City
Dar es Salaam has grown to become the most important business hub for Eastern Africa countries for two reasons. The first being the existence of Dar es Salaam port which facilitates import and export of goods. Secondly, the Kariakoo market which has grown to attract business not only from Tanzanian firms but also medium sized business enterprises in nearby countries. It is these two factors that make the SabaSaba fair “the playground” for international corporations eyeing to dominate the East African market which has close to 500 million population. The scale and diversity of the SabaSaba trade fair attract various people of different ages. Be it curious children that tag along with their parents or teenagers/adolescent looking to hang out, the availability to various products and services from different origins has its significant allure.
This year, TanTrade projects that more than 450,000 people will visit the SabaSaba trade fair. There will be more than 700 booths showcasing various products and services. For companies looking forward to registering their business in Tanzania, SabaSaba poses a good opportunity since all government bodies responsible for business registration including Business Registrations and Licensing Agency (BRELA) and Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) will be on the fair, providing services on spot.
TanTrade has also added new and innovative approaches to attracting more visitors. These include scheduling special days highlighting the business and culture of other countries. In schedule are the Japan day (4 July 2024), Korea and China day (06 July 2024), Russia day (10 July 2024), India day (11 July 2024). These days will offer a deeper dive into understanding the business opportunities from these countries as well as Business to Business (B2B) meetings opportunities.
Furthermore, special days and forums highlighting certain business sectors has also been set up. These include the artist industry on 2nd July, the women and youth forum on 4th July, Oil and Gas industry forum on 5th July, environmental sector forum on 6th July, mining sector forum on 8th July, ICT sector forum on 9th July, agriculture sector forum on 10th July, construction sector forum on 11th July and tourism sector forum on 12th July. These forums will offer stakeholders insights and networking opportunities.
The breadth and expanse of the fair makes SabaSaba an international event for companies looking to penetrate or strengthen their market in a growing population of East Africa. In return, companies should also expect to network with exhibitors looking at opportunities to export raw materials from agriculture and mining sectors which are flourishing in the region.