Mumbai hosts ITME Africa & ME 2023 second preview

The first curtain raiser and preview event was hosted in Nairobi, Kenya on October 3 in the presence of senior Kenyan government officials and with participation from embassies, organiser India ITME Society said in a press release.

The highlights and topics at this Mumbai edition’s curtain raiser and preview covered by eminent dignitaries and speakers, included ‘Strength Of Indian Textile and How Africa Can Collaborate with India to Lead the Textile Industry’ by industry expert and experienced textile professional Updeep Singh; ‘Africa a Land of Opportunities for India and How Exhibitions can be a Gateway for Bilateral Trade for Textile Industry Promotion’ by Balvinder Singh Sawhney, assistant secretary general, FICCI; ‘Views on Technical Textiles and the Future’ by Pramod Khosla, chairman and managing director, Khosla Profil Pvt Ltd; and ‘Increase in Business Engagement between India and Africa since 2020 in the Textile Segment’ by Avinash Mayekar, managing director, Suvin.

ITME Africa & ME 2023 promises to offer a unique and valuable experience for all participants. Whether it is to gain insights, network with industry leaders, business interactions or joint ventures, this event will provide ample networking opportunities, and direct connection with professionals and peers.

Apart from the 3-day exhibition, ITME Africa & ME shall also host multiple concurrent programmes such as panel discussions and interactive sessions on technical and financial topics that will enhance knowledge and skills.

Renowned speakers and industry stalwarts are set to conduct interactive and focused sessions that promise unparalleled opportunities for attendees to listen, interact, and learn from experts making groundbreaking contributions in the textile and textile engineering industry. The array of topics is extensive, aiming to address key areas of concern and interest.

The conference features various pivotal sessions designed to provide comprehensive insights into the textile industry. Under the heading of ‘Investment & Technology Joint Venture’, key topics to be discussed include ‘Kenya as a Business Destination Gateway to Middle East, EU & US Markets’ and ‘Africa – The Next Big Destination for Textile Manufacturing’.

The next segment, ‘Financial Solutions for Investments & Technology Upgradation’, will focus on ‘Funding for; Investment & Sourcing Capital Goods from India’, ‘Start-ups, Entrepreneurs in Textile Segment’, ‘Domestic Financial Schemes for Kenyan Textile Industry’, and ‘Kenya – A Success story Textile Business & Investment’.

Another important part of the agenda is the ‘Technical & Technological Seminar’, which will offer insights into ‘Good Practices of Cultivating Quality Cotton Fibre | Importance of Physical Properties of Cotton in Textile Industry by Cotton Expert’, ‘Technological Advancement for Cotton Ginning & High Production by Ginning Expert’, and ‘Ideas & Best Practices for Spinning Profits in Textile Industry by Spinning Specialist’.

The event will be rounded off with a ‘Panel Discussion’ that aims to cover ‘Textile Technology Empowering Complete Textile Value Chain of African continent & ME’. Participating countries in this key dialogue will include India, Italy, China, and Switzerland.

Many government organisations and associations from Kenya have joined hands with India ITME Society to host this Textile Technology and Engineering event to bring prosperity to the whole of Africa and explore the potential of Kenya as a new business destination along with other 23 exhibiting countries—Austria, Benin, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, Germany, Ghana, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Togo, Turkiye, Tunisia, Uganda, US, and Zambia apart from India.

“ITME Africa & ME 2023 is an important milestone in enhancing bilateral trade relations and promoting industrial cooperation between Kenya and India. This partnership aims to leverage the business potential of both the countries and build on the innovation, economic growth, and sustainability goals of their respective textile technology and engineering industries. With as many as 23 countries taking part in the India ITME Society exhibition in Kenya, Africa is sure to derive the immense benefits of investing in future partnerships and building successful business ventures in the entire African region,” said Ketan Sanghvi, chairman, India ITME Society.

“India possesses a robust textile engineering foundation and boasts the world’s second-largest textile industry, featuring manufacturing facilities. With this being the focus, the efforts of the ITME society by hosting their quadrennial event ITME Africa & ME 2023 in Nairobi Kenya will attract more attention towards the Kenyan textile industry and also showcase the business potential of the country, globally. This will increase visibility and business inquiries and widen opportunities for India’s exports in textiles and machinery businesses leveraging an untapped customer base of the African continent. Now, with the addition of the African Union in the G20 Summit conducted in New Delhi, the trade volumes with India are expected to rise in the continent and textile machinery companies should capitalise on this,” said Updeep Singh, textile industry expert.

Pramod Khosla, chairman and managing director, Khosla Profil Pvt Ltd brought attention to the fact that there is tremendous scope in infrastructure development in most African countries which can be a great opportunity for geo textiles and also for many other technical textiles segment such as Indutech, Packtech, Buildtech Protech, etc. “India ITME society has taken the right steps to promote trade relations between India and Africa that will help the textile industry and allied ventures by generating demand and boosting production in the African continent,” he said.

Balvinder Singh Sawhney, assistant secretary general, FICCI, emphasised that the exhibition provides a less risky and cost competitive platform to explore new ventures and new shows especially for small and medium sized businesses. His three ‘Es’ mantra for the industry is ‘Explore and Expand with Exhibition’.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB)