The IATF provides a platform for businesses in Africa and the rest of the world to showcase their goods and services to visitors and buyers.
Nigeria, the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the African Union Commission (AUC), and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat on Monday signed the hosting agreement for the 2027 Intra-African Trade Fair (IATF 2027) to be hosted in Lagos.
The signing ceremony took place at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Culture and Creative Arts in Lagos.
Held biennially, the IATF provides a platform for businesses in Africa and the rest of the world to showcase their goods and services to visitors and buyers while exchanging information and exploring opportunities.
The fourth IATF2025, hosted in Algiers, Algeria in 2025, witnessed the signing of $48.3bn in trade and investment deals during the weeklong event, and was attended by over 112,000 visitors (physical and virtual), from 132 countries. A total of 958 buyers also participated in the event.
IATF2027, which is the fifth edition, is expected to convene thousands of exhibitors, buyers, investors and policymakers from across the continent and the diaspora, catalysing trade and investment deals, trade and market information exchanges, industrial partnerships, and cross-border investment aligned with Africa's industrialisation and economic integration agenda.
The signing ceremony brought together senior government representatives, continental institutions and business leaders, marking a significant step towards delivering a transformative trade platform for Africa.
Speaking at the event, the president of the Afreximbank, George Elombi, said when the bank proclaimed Nigeria as the next host of the IATF2027, "we all knew an elephant had been sighted."
"Judging by the success of the Afreximbank's annual meeting held in Abuja, June last year, the success of the IATF in Lagos is already assured. But someone had to deliver the elephant to us, and someone had to deliver Nigeria to us. That is the person of the President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
"To him we owe our gratitude, and to him we look up for the success of the IATF2027. We are assured that President Tinubu will deliver the elephant to us. That is why we are here today," Elombi added.
Former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, commended Nigeria's President, Bola Tinubu, the governor of Lagos State, and private sector operators, "whose commitment was instrumental in accepting to host the continental trade fair."
Tinubu was represented by the minister of industry, trade, and investment, Jumoke Oduwole.
Oduwole expressed delight at the opportunity for Nigeria to host the trade fair, saying the letter to approve the event was the "first memo I sent to my boss on assumption as minister and he approved it in less than 24 hours."