DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, 11 October 2026: Nigerian businesswoman and African Marketplace founder Ibukun Awosika has called for greater global recognition of African and Caribbean small businesses as the second edition of African Marketplace Dubai opened at the Conrad Dubai on Saturday, 10 October 2026, with a renewed push to connect regional enterprises to international buyers and export markets.
The three-day exhibition, running until 12 October, provides a platform for entrepreneurs to showcase products, services, technology, creative work and innovations while building relationships with prospective buyers, investors and strategic partners.
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Founded by Awosika through the Ibukun Awosika Leadership Academy (IALA), the initiative seeks to address the challenges African and Caribbean businesses face in gaining international visibility and securing access to global markets.
At the opening ceremony, Awosika was joined by Walid Hareb AlFalahi, founder and chief executive of the UAE Trade Centre; Grace El Mahmoud Marabe, Ghana’s Consul General to Dubai and the Northern Emirates; and Janice Costa, project manager and events and partnerships leader at the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank).
The gathering brought together representatives of business, diplomacy and trade to promote stronger commercial connections between African and Caribbean enterprises and international markets.
Awosika said small and medium-sized enterprises represent a significant but under-recognised part of the region’s productive economy, arguing that their potential could be better realised through greater exposure and improved access to export opportunities.
“Ninety percent of our productive sector sits in the SME space, and that is where the value is. The world just does not know it yet,” she said.
“Our job is to unlock these businesses as an export machine and take them to the global stage.”
Awosika also highlighted the importance of allowing international buyers to experience African-made products directly, recalling that visitors at the previous edition had questioned whether some of the displayed goods were genuinely produced in Africa.
“Last year, visitors asked us if these products were really made in Africa. They are. When people see them and hold them, the doubt goes. That is why we are in Dubai,” she said.
Her remarks placed product quality, visibility and international market access at the centre of the exhibition’s mission, with the organisers seeking to challenge perceptions that may limit the global commercial reach of African brands.
AlFalahi said interest in African products was growing and described the latest edition as a significant improvement on the previous year’s event.
“Market entry takes persistence. From last year to this year, I see a major improvement. There is real interest in African products here, and this can grow bigger,” he said.
He also called for greater involvement from Dubai’s women’s business community and Chamber of Commerce, pointing to the potential for stronger partnerships to support participating enterprises.
The Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism is the exhibition’s key strategic partner, while Afreximbank, which supported the initiative from its inaugural edition, has continued as a strategic partner and key sponsor.
The Development Bank of Nigeria has joined as a partner for the first time in 2026, supporting selected exhibitors to participate. Other named supporters include FCMB, Emadeb Energy and Senator Daisy Danjuma.
African Business Heroes, an initiative established by the Jack Ma Foundation to support African entrepreneurs, is also represented, with some of its past winners exhibiting at the marketplace.
The participation of financial institutions and entrepreneurship-support organisations reflects the broader effort to connect small businesses with networks that could help them develop their products, expand distribution and explore new commercial opportunities.
African Marketplace Dubai follows its inaugural edition in 2025, which established the exhibition as a platform for African and Caribbean brands to engage international audiences.
The second edition builds on that foundation, with an emphasis on deepening business relationships and strengthening the visibility of export-ready enterprises.
The organisers’ focus comes amid wider efforts across Africa to expand non-oil exports, strengthen small-business competitiveness and increase the contribution of locally produced goods to international trade.
However, gaining access to foreign markets often requires businesses to meet product standards, manage logistics, secure financing and establish reliable distribution channels.
An exhibition can provide an important introduction to buyers and partners, but lasting export growth depends on businesses being able to convert those introductions into sustainable commercial relationships.
For participating entrepreneurs, the opportunity to present their products directly to international audiences may help build confidence in African brands while opening conversations around partnerships, investment and distribution.
As the event continues through Monday, 12 October, African Marketplace Dubai is positioning itself as more than a product showcase.
Its central ambition is to create a practical bridge between African and Caribbean enterprise and the global marketplace, helping businesses move from local recognition towards international growth.
Whether the connections established during the exhibition translate into measurable export gains will depend on the partnerships, orders and market-entry opportunities that follow.
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For Awosika and the organisers, the immediate message is clear: African and Caribbean businesses have products and ideas worth taking to the world, but they need the visibility and commercial access to compete.
