The annual SABC Education African EduWeek this year held from July 1 to 2, 2015 at the Gallagher Convention Center, Midland, South Africa attracted 120 South African and international exhibitors. This included eight educational equipment and material producers and suppliers from the Chinese mainland seeking to tap into the African market. 

Based in Beijing, Shanghai and cities in southern China, most of these companies have already entered markets in Europe and America. For many of them, it was the first time to venture into the continent in search of opportunities. 

Xu Jun, General Manager of the Shenzhen iBoard Technology Co. Ltd. said that their interactive white boards and touch screen monitors, mainly designed for primary and secondary education, are very popular at markets at home and abroad. Xu said that compared to other markets, Africa is relatively new to the company and they had come on an exploratory trip.  

The two-day exhibition offered opportunities for Chinese exhibitors to meet an African audience. Chen Xibiao, a senior editor from the Higher Education Press, said that they had brought textbooks to the exhibit to help foreigners learn Chinese. He said that he found a great deal of interest in learning the language and many local teachers asked for information about Chinese language training opportunities. 

Edgar Baron, International Sales Manager of Spintelligent, organizer of the African EduWeek, said that there are plenty of opportunities for Chinese companies and companies around the world in the educational equipment market in South Africa and Africa as a whole. He said that African EduWeek is not focused on South Africa, but on the region. Their vision is to get all of Africa coming together to create a partnership with the suppliers. China is becoming more aware of the African EduWeek opportunities, he said. 

Initiated in 2007, the annual SABC Education African EduWeek is the largest and most influential education equipment sector exhibition in Africa. This year, the two-day event gathered more than 3,500 teachers, educational professionals, institutions and suppliers. Chinese exhibitors began to participate in the event in 2014.