The Eastern Cape is set to welcome business leaders, exporters, investors, policymakers and development partners from across South Africa, the African continent and international markets when it hosts the 7th Eastern Cape Export Symposium and Exhibition from 19–21 August 2026 at the East London International Convention Centre (ICC) in KuGompo City.
Hosted by the Eastern Cape Development Corporation (ECDC), the province’s flagship export promotion event showcases the Eastern Cape’s export capabilities while creating meaningful opportunities for businesses to establish commercial partnerships, attract investment and expand into regional and international markets.
This year’s Symposium marks an important milestone through its co-hosting with the Continental Energy Infrastructure and Investment Forum (CEIIF), creating an integrated platform that brings together trade, investment, infrastructure and energy. Convened in partnership with key government departments, development finance institutions, industry bodies and strategic partners, the event recognises the critical role that infrastructure, energy security and collaboration play in strengthening competitiveness and unlocking sustainable economic growth.
Held under the theme:
“Powering Trade Opportunity: Connecting Infrastructure Opportunities, Energy and Strategic Partnerships in a Changing Global Economy,”
the Symposium will bring together government leaders, business executives, exporters, investors, development finance institutions, industry experts and international partners to examine practical solutions for expanding market access, strengthening regional value chains and unlocking new investment opportunities.
As global supply chains continue to evolve and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) creates new opportunities for intra-African trade, the Symposium provides a strategic platform for positioning African businesses to compete more effectively in regional and international markets.
The Eastern Cape is uniquely positioned to host this engagement. With an established industrial base, three commercial ports and two Special Economic Zones, the province continues to play an important role in facilitating trade, investment, industrialisation and regional economic integration.
The two-day conference and exhibition programme, taking place on 19 and 20 August 2026, will feature:
- High-level keynote addresses and plenary sessions
- Expert-led panel discussions
- Specialised workshops
- Business-to-business matchmaking engagements
- A 60-stand exhibition showcasing export-ready businesses and investment opportunities
- A Hosted Buyer Programme connecting export-ready businesses with verified international buyers, investors and strategic partners
The exhibition will showcase innovative products, services and investment opportunities from businesses and institutions across multiple sectors, providing exhibitors with direct access to buyers, investors, financiers, government representatives and industry leaders seeking commercially viable partnerships.
Eastern Cape Premier, Mr Oscar Mabuyane, said the Symposium reflects the province’s ambition to strengthen its position as one of South Africa’s leading destinations for trade and investment.
“The Eastern Cape has established itself as one of South Africa’s leading destinations for trade and investment. This year’s Symposium reflects our ambition to build stronger partnerships between government, industry and international markets, and to move from dialogue to delivery on the opportunities before us. I welcome all delegates to the Eastern Cape and look forward to the outcomes this platform will deliver for our province and our country.”
Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Eastern Cape Development Corporation, Ms Thobile Buthelezi, said the integrated event demonstrates ECDC’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for investment and economic growth.
“CEIIF and the Export Symposium reflect ECDC’s commitment to creating platforms that connect policy with implementation, opportunity with investment, and ideas with delivery. By bringing together government, industry, investors and development partners, we are moving from opportunity to implementation, and from dialogue to delivery.”
The Symposium is expected to attract delegates from across South Africa, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region and international markets, further reinforcing the Eastern Cape’s position as a strategic gateway for trade, investment, industrialisation and export development.
Accredited members of the media are invited to cover the keynote addresses, plenary sessions, panel discussions, exhibition showcases and business engagements taking place on 19 and 20 August 2026. Interview opportunities with government leaders, business executives, exhibitors, speakers and international delegates will be available throughout the event.
Attendance is free; however, registration is essential.
Register at: www.ecexportsymposium.co.za
Hoboken Nightingale
A British man on safari walks into a bar far out in the reaches of a game reserve in Southern Africa, he stays at the bar for a while shooting the shit with the bartender and drinking like a fish, he offer to buy the barkeep a round and since no one else is within 2km of their small oasis of liquor the barkeep obliges. The englishman goes off to the bathroom to have a good old go at the porcelain, he\’s back and ready for a few more whiskeys. He\’s just sat down when suddenly in the distance he hears a scream. He looks over his shoulder and dismisses it as nothing, he turns to the barkeep and orders a drink, takes a sip and hears the scream again. He looks at the barkeep who just shrugs it off. A minute or two later he and the barman hear it again and go outside to take a look. They see a lone figure running towards them screaming, he spots them and lets out a cry, RUN!!!!! HE\”S COMING!!!!!
The barkeep and the Englishman both look at the terrified bedraggled sight before them, and try to calm him down, but he\’s completely inconsolable. They give him water and finally manage to get a word out of him but he struggles free from their grasp and run away screaming.
A few minutes later the same thing happens with a whole group of men running in and screaming, he\’s coming, he\’s coming the barkeep grabs hold of one of the men as he tries to sprint past the bar and tries to get information out of him, again no response other than terrified gibberish.
The barkeep and his customer are starting to get worried, they start to pack up before another group of horrified natives run up to the bar most of them flee but one tries to hide behind the bar, the barkeep pulls out a shotgun and points it at the terrified man\’s face, finally managing to coax some words out of him. \”He\’s coming for us, Vernon Koekemoer is coming for us, we have to hide!!! We have to get out of here.\” He gets up and tries to run but the barkeep grabs him, feeling trapped in a panic he grabs the barkeeps shotgun and blows his own head off. The Englishman and the barkeep look at each other starting to really panic now.
They look out of the window and off in the distance they see a tornado coming towards the bar, at the bottom of the tornado they see the hugest beast of a man they have ever seen, as he gets closer they spot that he is riding a rhinocerous and using a crocodile as a riding whip, with each smack of the crocodile across the back of the rhino the louder is screams and the faster it runs, the tornado following it getting ever larger.
The 2 look at each other and start to fortify their position, they\’ve got a gun and they\’re waaay to drunk to run, so they start piling bar stool and tables and anything they can get their hands on to make sure they\’ll be safe when he arrives. They\’re not gonna make it, they can see the man slowing down his rhino, by now the crocodile is nothing but reptile paste on the bruised rump of the half dead rhino, the rhino drops down dead from exhaustion and crashes to the ground right outside the bar the tornado loses it\’s last breath in a cloud of dust as the huge man crashes his way through the make shift barricade and charges up towards the bar where the 2 men have taken shelter, he grabs a bottle of the hardest liquor on the shelf and down the entire litre in 1 gulp, he peers over the bar sobbing and sees the 2 defenders cowering down behind the crates of beer, they look up at the mans\’ face and he stares at them with a look of complete and utter hopelessness, he stares at them for a half second and half screams, half sobs, \”Oh my god what are you still doing here!!! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!!!! Vernon Koekemoer is coming!!!!\”
Hemingway Mirmillone
I took a trip to South Africa and met a Khoisan woman.
We really clicked.