At trade fairs you get to experience the future today. They are an important instrument for promoting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), giving them the chance to showcase their products in an international arena and open up new marketing opportunities. But what about the trade show organisers who provide a platform for the exhibitors? What services do they have to provide? What do they have to do to acquire new customers? What skills do they need to advise and retain customers? What makes a good trade show manager? And how does all that fit in with long-term concepts about stimulating the economy and employment in a developing or emerging country? AgenZ works in conjunction with a number of different partners to address these questions and offers advisory services for trade show organisers or companies who act as intermediaries between trade shows and their customers in developing and emerging countries.

Running an exhibition and conference centre helps to strengthen local business and its regional importance in many different ways. These centres act as hubs for international trade and commerce, as communication platforms for international conferences and events, and as arenas for local actors to organise events. Efficiently run, an exhibition centre can create jobs in areas connected with the trade show business, and a region’s hotels and associated infrastructure also stand to gain from it. It is therefore no surprise that planning and running exhibition centres is becoming an increasingly important component in development projects designed to strengthen the economic power of an emerging or developing country.

To achieve this, exhibition centres must have excellent structures in place. This includes both infrastructure and also management and marketing practices. And this is where AgenZ can help. To ensure that centres are ready for trade fairs, AgenZ offers training to trade show organisers and companies acting as intermediaries (i.e. agencies and institutions that organise their customers’ participation in trade fairs). Typically, a needs and context analysis will first be carried out to determine what know-how and training is needed. AgenZ then develops tailored advisory packages offering various training modules which focus on topics such as organisational development, branding and customer acquisition.

To this end AgenZ collaborates with a variety of partners, including Munich International Trade Fairs, who are able to bring to the table their specific trade fair expertise. The approach is rounded off with contributions on the topic of communications and marketing, the development of training materials and overall management of the joint project. Examples from Rwanda, Pakistan and Bulgaria illustrate how AgenZ provides needs-oriented advisory services both to the organisers and the clients of trade fair centres.