Exhibitions for Africa is to host an information and communications technology (ICT) and electronics exhibition in Cape Town next year after cancelling Computer Faire in the city this year.
The announcement, made by Exhibitions for Africa CEO Jo Melville yesterday, also marks the reinvention of the exhibitions company and the re-branding of its Computer Faire exhibition, which has been a landmark in the South African IT industry for 20 years.
The rebranded show, Futurex, will run at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 29 September to 1 October next year, alongside an exhibition focusing on the Western Cape industrial sector.
The Western Cape Regional Chamber of Commerce has endorsed both exhibitions, and the Cape IT Initiative, IT Association and the SA Engineering Association have endorsed Futurex. The Department of Trade and Industry has also thrown its weight behind the events.
Exhibitions for Africa director Aldean Prior says market research has confirmed the need to combine the ICT and electronics exhibitions. "Independent research has shown that it will be beneficial for the industry to have a combination of these two. The convergence of technology shows that the two sectors are very interlinked."
Computer Faire was criticised in the past for becoming too consumer-oriented and attempts to enhance the industry and business aspects failed.
"We took a long hard look and re-invented ourselves, and the response has been fantastic," Melville says.
The cancellation of the 2003 Western Cape Computer Faire was partly filled by the Business Equipment Exhibition held in May. However, the event drew only a small number of IT companies.
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