By Carol Muchendu

The Blue Triangle Cement 15th Kenya Homes Expo organisers promise an event like never before. The expanded fair will occupy two floors and run for four days.

Now getting into the eighth year of running the expo, the organisers, HomesKenya magazine, continue to see the

Visitors at a previous expo. [Photo: Jeniffer Wachie/Standard]

growth of an expo that began in a modest manner.

The theme of the fair is ‘Maximise your potential’. The organisers have decided to add a floor of exhibition space to their existing floor at KICC, but also for exhibitors and visitors who will be making their way to the 15th expo. Exhibitors will tap from the traffic of their target market and visitors can expect an even wider range of exhibitors.

Banks and industries

Last year, the two expos were held in April and October.

According to Daniel Ojijo, executive chairman of Mentor Holdings (the holding company for HomesKenya Ltd) and the chief organiser of the expo, the demand for space at the Kenya Homes Expo from a rapidly growing real estate and properties market drove them to have an additional floor to the expo.

"In this day and age, expos will continue to be a powerful tool for marketing mainly because exhibitors interact with the right target market at the expo. The expo also provides a platform where various exhibitors can showcase their services and products while making returns from a willing-buyer audience," says Ojijo.

With lots of return exhibitors, Ojijo says this is testimony to the fact that the event is working for their businesses.

The Blue Triangle Cement 15th Kenya Homes Expo will also occupy the exterior space just outside the main halls.

The 15th expo has seen the number of property developers and agents increase tremendously. The number of banks taking part in the expo has also grown. At the same time, the supporting and related industries have taken a huge chunk of the space on the floor as well.

The expo will showcase players from building and construction firms and manufacturers, roofing products, solar products, insurance companies, interior designers and furniture stores, major construction firms, project managers and even service providers.

Growing interest

"We are really looking forward to the 15th expo. Various exhibitors from the real estate divide will be showcasing their products and services, with developers exhibiting various projects for the mass market. These exhibitors keep coming because of the enormous leads that they acquire and the volume of direct sales generated," Ojijo explains.

The Blue Triangle 14th Kenya Homes Expo, which was sponsored by Blue Triangle and Barclays Bank, grossed numbers of about 32,000 visitors during the four days of the event and about 100 exhibitors.

Over the years, Kenyans have become more aware of this market and their interest in the sector has moved from just mere curiosity to actually acquiring properties and to property development, investment and land speculation as well as home improvement.

Finally, Ojijo notes that the expo has provided a platform that was primarily lacking in the market where information on real estate opportunities is made readily available in one forum.