The Ethiopian Leather Industries Association (ELIA), in cooperation with COMESA/LLPI and other sponsors, organized the 6th All-African Leather Fair (AALF) in Addis Ababa, from February 20-22, 2013. The Trade Fair brought together tanners, footwear and other leather goods manufacturers, equipment and technology suppliers, chemical and inputs suppliers, manpower training institutions, trade promotion organizations, etc..from different parts of the globe. African companies and organizations constituted the largest attendance.
The Fair was a specialized one, designed to promote the African leather industry and to enable it create an interface with its partners within the continent and around the world. It offered the opportunity for business persons in the industry to meet and to talk face to face and to get immediate feedback on their prospective businesses. It provided a comprehensive forum for increased business in leather, leather products and the allied industries, notably chemicals, machinery, components and accessories. The main activities conducted during the three days Fair were Trend Show by APLF (Hong Kong), Buyers and Sellers Meeting, IFCOMA (India) and ELIA meeting, Fashion Parade, USAID-Agricultural Growth Program Forum, Consozio Toscana Shoe Components (Italy)-ELIA Forum, Trade Fair, etc..
The AALF 2013 attracted 154 exhibitors from Ethiopia, 8 from Europe, 19 from Asia and more than 30 from African countries other than Ethiopia that displayed their products and services. COMESA/LLPI supported the participation of 31 SMEs to ensure more depth of SMEs in Intra and Inter-trade in the Region. Most encouraging was the interest by traders outside and within the continents on exhibited products by some of the LLPI sponsored SMEs. African enterprises utilized the opportunity to promote the wealth that Africa has in the sector by showcasing their exportable items to the world market. Exhibitors expressed their high level of satisfaction.