Second edition of Simply Nigerian Fair holds in Lagos

Lagosians came out to shop until they dropped at the recently held second edition of the Simply Nigerian Fair. Close to 800 visitors spent the afternoon of February 12, 2017 in the lush setting of the Garden Fusion Centre, Bedwell Road, Ikoyi where the fair took place. They came for an enjoyable day out with family and friends, for the opportunity to meet new people and most of all to sample the enticing range of proudly Nigerian goods on display.

The Simply Nigerian Fair (SNF) is an initiative that promotes home-grown businesses by providing them an affordable platform through which to showcase their products, increase their market, broaden their networks and add value to their businesses. About 50 vendors took part in this month’s fair selling locally produced, grown or assembled products across six categories – food and drinks; hair and beauty; home and lifestyle; fresh produce; fabrics and footwear; plants and flowers.

This edition of the Simply Nigerian Fair attracted a bevy of celebrities including media mogul Mo Abudu, award-winning artist Omawumi, celebrated songstress Waje and Nollywood legend Kate Henshaw, who did the honour of officially opening the fair. Corporate partners of SNF included House of Tara, Health Plus and Cabal Entertainment. Media partners included Ebony Life TV, Battabox, Punch Newspapers, Guardian Newspapers, NTA and Spice TV.

The SNF has also entered into partnership with the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment and Honourable Minister of State, Hajia Aisha Abubakar was the special guest at the first edition of the fair, which held successfully on November 13, 2016. Under this partnership, representatives of key parastatals under the Ministry including the Corporate Affairs Commission, Standards Organization of Nigeria, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) held a briefing with SNF vendors to give them critical information and advice on how to work with their various agencies.

The SNF will be a quarterly initiative according to Founder and Director, Mrs Temi Shenjobi. “Our aim is to increase the potential of these enterprises to grow into sustainable and profitable businesses that can create jobs and promote the talent, hard work and heritage of Nigerians to the world,” she says.

The other Directors behind the Simply Nigerian Fair are Mrs Linda Okome, Mrs Penelope Gobir and Ms Nkiru Asika, all bound by a common vision to showcase home-grown businesses and to create new linkages and foster relationships that will help catapult these businesses to the next level.