Expo benefits both China and Africa in various ways

Romer Environmental Protection (Shenzhen) Co Ltd on Tuesday signed a $10,000 sales contract with Uganda Kings School, during the opening ceremony of China-Uganda Industrial Capacity Cooperation Exhibition at the Uganda Manufacturers Association showgrounds, in Uganda's capital, Kampala.

According to Michael Qiu, the general manager of Romer's Kenya branch, it was their fourth time to attend similar expos, having attended the previous ones in Uganda and Ethiopia last year, where they also signed deals.

During the first ever China-Africa Industrial Capacity Cooperation Expo held in Nairobi in October 2017, organized by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, Kenya's president Uhuru Kenyatta ordered 20 sets of Romer's water treatment equipment after watching the onsite demonstration.

Nile Machinery Co Ltd, another Chinese company participating in the Uganda edition, also secured a $10,000 crushing machine sales contract in the first day of the expo.

Last year at the Nairobi exposition, the company sold out a set of limestone crushing and sand making equipment, worth more than $7 million.

Similarly to the Chinese companies, local enterprises are also looking at benefiting maximally from the expo.

Daniel Katamujere, the managing director of Uganda Katamu Industrial and Engineering Co, said the expo has provided a platform for exchange between the Chinese and Ugandan enterprises on the investment opportunities in the east African country and possible areas of cooperation between the two countries.

At the expo, Katamujere is specifically interested in signing contracts with Chinese manufacturers of agricultural machinery and engineering vehicles, with the hope of becoming their sales agent in Uganda.

He said the agricultural machinery from China can help Uganda realize higher yields as well as enable the country to upgrade its industrial capacity.