Mobile Fest Africa Gets October Date

Mobile Fest Africa, a specialized trade fair for the mobile phone and other mobile device manufacturer, resellers and others in the mobile ecosystem, including mobile users will hold in Nigeria, Emmanuel Okoegwale, one of the promoters of the initiatives has said.

Slated to hold October 16-18, at the Lagos Airport Hotel, Lagos, the fair will enable buyers to meet sellers under one business friendly and informal environment across the coast of West Africa for the first time.

The promoter said that it is not a conference or a symposium or an exhibition but simply a sales and trade event for mobiles only.

The fair is premised on the fact that the Mobile Phone is the primary means of communication across West Africa. Sales of the devices are contributing significant market share to the original equipment manufacturers’ world wide.

Mobile users in West Africa still go through significant challenges to acquire the devices they desire because of the informal and unstructured nature of the market. Grey market share is increasing significantly. This is leading to leakages and wastage in the distribution ecosystems.

The fair aims to be positioned as the number one annual marketplace for mobile phone devices, trends and innovations in the booming and energized West African market.

According to the organizers, Nigeria is the informal source of mobile device sales in West Africa.

They noted that Otigba market in Ikeja is West Africa’s largest mobile phone market and it has more than 5,000 registered phone dealers and over 7,000 phone hawkers. Original equipment dealers, resellers and grey market merchants are competing for the limited market space in the biggest mobile phone market in West Africa.

Mushrooming Mobile device markets in Saka Tinubu – Victoria Island, Obalende – Lagos Island, GSM mart- Iyana Ipaja/ Ikeja Expressway, Ojo Alaba Phone Market and Bode Thomas Street, Surulere.