Maurice Kambukwe
WINDHOEK - The much-anticipated maiden edition of the first ever Namibia Annual Sports Expo (Nase) will officially kick off today in the capital, with vice-president Nangolo Mbumba expected to inaugurate the historic three-day event.
The expo, a first of its kind for Namibia, starts today and will run until Saturday at both the Hage Geingob Stadium and Independence Stadium, where over 50 local and international exhibitors will be on site to showcase their various products and services.
According to Nase Projects Manager Reginald Hinda, the expo will see one international exhibitor from Egypt who will join the locals in showcasing their products as well as exchanging notes on various aspects of sports.
Hinda further explained that the reason for fewer foreign exhibitors at the inaugural expo is due to the fact that they wanted this event to benefit and develop local exhibitors.
“We are ready, waiting for people to come and witness greatness. We have over 50 local exhibitors and one international exhibitor, which include food exhibitors, the main focus was to have local exhibitors. We did not focus much on getting international exhibitors. We want to give the platform to our local businesses, as our main focus is to grow the local industries,” explained Hinda.
He added that Senegalese secretary-general of sport Paul Dionne, will be in attendance and to address the crowd.
As part of today’s opening activities, there will be presentations, panel discussions and stakeholder engagements at the Independence Stadium, where a number sport experts and pundits will share perspectives. Also, on the programme today will be sports coaching clinic for juniors at the Hage Geingob Stadium and also aerobics, Zumba, bootcamp, pilates and yoga among other at the Independence Stadium.
The expo will be the country’s biggest international show dedicated to the sports, fitness and health industries, and will also put special emphasis on the local manufacturing industry with the aim of showcasing and connecting them with potential investors that will be in attendance during the expo.
More importantly, the expo in its design aims to strategically bring together a diverse range of national and international sports organizations, sport goods and equipment manufacturers, technology and innovation providers. These are along sport retailers, dealers, distributors, sport marketing professionals, sport media experts as well as local and international sport federations, national associations and other internationally renowned sport leaders under one roof.
Additionally, the Ministry of Sport, Youth and National Service on behalf of the Namibian government also wants to use the exhibition to directly market Namibia as a world-class destination for tourists across the globe.