Mixed feelings about Ongwediva Trade Fair

SMALL and medium enterprises that exhibited at the Ongwediva Trade Fair were not entirely happy with its organisation.

Other exhibitors were happy with the fair because they succeeded in disseminating information about their companies and organisations.SMEs, however, said they did not do much business because the show ended before payday and show-goers did not have money to spend at the fair.’Things went very well for us because we could introduce our Japanese culture and our existence as Japanese volunteers,’ said Masao Yamakawa, one of the volunteers representing the Japanese Overseas Co-operation Agency at the fair.But pottery exhibitor Johanna Shigwedha of the One Winda Oombiga Pottery Project said: ‘Apart from exhibiting our products, we also want to sell our products.’She said the fair should be scheduled to start at the end of the month so that show-goers could spend more money there after payday.Shigwedha added that the N$2 500 per stand charged by the Ongwediva Town Council should be lowered.Some of the visitors had complained about the prices of goods sold at the fair being too high, but Shigwedha argued that they had to set such high prices to make up for the high cost of renting a stand.Approached for comment, show organiser Damian Egumbo, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ongwediva Town Council, said the council took note of the complaints and would try to accommodate them.However, Egumbo reminded the exhibitors that the aim of the Trade Fair is to promote their products and to learn from each other, and not only to sell their products.He said next year’s Trade Fair would be held from August 27 to September 4.