Johannesburg - Everything from arts and crafts, to business, fashion, music and food will be on display at the Afrika Village 2010 Business and Arts Festival, running daily during the month-long 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Designed to attract individuals from all corners of the globe, it will be held at the Zoo Lake Sports Club in northern Joburg from 11 June to 11 July everyday between 9am and 8.30pm, reports Joburg.org.
"Afrika Village 2010 is strictly aimed at showcasing the best of the African continent to the rest of the world," said Tebo Nwanjang, a representative at the Afrika Village office.
"Joburgers visiting the village will experience first-hand the various African cuisines and cultures - including dance, music and fashion - on the African continent and they will be exposed to the various business, trade, investment and tourism opportunities that exist within the African continent.
"Through the promotion of African initiatives and companies big and small, we [Afrika Village] hope to create a truly pan-African movement towards attracting trading partners and investors from around the world to take part in the realisation of the economic transformation of Africa during this African century," said Nwanjang.
This festival is expected to attract over 10 000 visitors daily, ranging from traders and buyers to partners and investors. This year, the city has "an opportunity to create a huge global interest in African goods and services".
Exhibiting, according to the organisers, is the only way to attend the biggest African exhibition to position a brand and project, which is cost effective and allows for much exposure as well as face-to-face selling, cross selling and new business ventures.
This exhibition is especially important for networking, exploring new business opportunities and showcasing products. It is the third year the event will be running, creating among other things a corporate gathering with investment opportunities.
The first took place in Berlin, Germany during the World Cup in 2006, and the second in Washington DC, in the United States during the Africa - Washington Business Forum in 2007.
"Our [Afrika Village] success this far has been to create a favourable image about the African continent and its readiness to do business and exchange its culture with the rest of the world.
"Through our exhibition platform, African enterprises - both private and public - have been able to create working relationships and trade with other businesses globally," said Nwanjang.
For more information about Afrika Village 2010 or to participate in the exhibition, the public can contact the South African offices on (011) 339-1552 or 074 332 0611.
