By Manyang David Mayar | November 14, 2025 (JUBA)
Over 50 members of South Sudan’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are taking part in the 25th East African Community (EAC) Trade Fair, hosted this year in Nairobi, Kenya. The exhibitors are using the platform to showcase a variety of products from the world’s youngest nation.
In an exclusive interview, Adet KiirChol, Secretary-General of South Sudan’s MSMEs, said the delegation’s participation is crucial in helping local producers integrate their goods into East African markets and encouraging increased agricultural production at home.
“The reason why this trip is so important is because it helps us show other EAC member states that South Sudan is doing a lot in terms of production and creativity—especially through our handcrafts and handmade beads made by our women,” Kiir said.
He noted that the team carried a range of South Sudanese products, including shea butter, acacia fruits (lalop), handmade beads, simsim, groundnuts, and local sweets, all of which are being displayed at the Nairobi fair.
For the past 25 years, the rotational EAC trade fair has brought together more than three thousand exhibitors from across the region, with the aim of showcasing innovations, products, and services in agribusiness, manufacturing, trade, and other sectors.
This year’s edition is convened under the theme: “25 Years of EAC Integration: Advancing Innovation and Regional Value Chains for Competitive MSMEs Towards Sustainable Development.”
MSMEs as South Sudan’s Trade Ambassadors
Each year, South Sudan’s Ministry of Trade and Industry covers transport and related expenses for MSME exhibitors as part of its mandate to promote bilateral trade within the East African Community.
Addressing the delegation before their departure from Juba last week, Yel Luol Koor, Undersecretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, urged the team to represent the country “in an exceptional manner” in order to attract potential investors.
South Sudan, an East African country that gained independence from Sudan in 2011, is endowed with vast natural resources including gold, silver, iron ore, gum arabic, extensive fertile land, abundant water from the Nile, timber, and one of the world’s largest wildlife migrations, with an estimated six million antelopes, according to African Parks.
