The International Cabo Verde (Cape Verde) Fair (FIC), which ended its 20th edition on Sunday in Praia, “has established itself as the largest business platform in the country,” said the chairman of the event, drawing attention to the urgent need to address the lack of space in the existing venue.

Gil Costa made a “positive assessment” of this year’s fair, which he said was “five days of pure business,” attended by 118 exhibitors from ten countries, mostly from Portugal, with 230 stands in an area of ​​8,000 square metres.

FIC 2016 included a higher proportion of professional visitors from the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Portuguese Speaking Countries (PALOP) and, for the first time, exhibitors from China.

“When you think of Cabo Verde you think of a small market, too small, but when we position the country in its sub-region, from Cabo Verde you can quickly reach a market of 300 million people and then Cabo Verde becomes interesting,” said Costa.

The main problem, according to the chairman of FIC, is precisely the small space available for the event, an old hangar at Praia airport, and “for the first time it was not possible to accept some registrations because we had reached the limit in terms of capacity.”

The 2016 International Cabo Verde Fair was held in Praia, the country’s capital, from Wednesday to Sunday. (macauhub)