Takealot, Amazon, Woolworths, Panda Saudi and Choitrams among the hosted buyers meeting African exporters at the Durban ICC, 6 to 8 October
Some of the continent's and the Middle East's most influential retail, hospitality and healthcare buyers will be in Durban next month for Engage Trade Africa (ETA) and Engage Services Africa (ESA), returning to the Durban International Convention Centre from 6 to 8 October 2026.
The hosted buyer line-up includes South African retail heavyweights Takealot, Pick n Pay, Clicks and Woolworths, alongside global e-commerce giant Amazon. They will be joined by Panda Saudi, Choitrams Dubai and Lulu Supermarkets from the Gulf, and Kenyan retailers Quickmart and Naivas. The buyer group also spans the hospitality and healthcare sectors, with Good Life Pharmacies, Delta Pharmaceuticals and Luton Hospitals Kenya confirmed to attend.
Through pre-arranged B2B meetings, these buyers will sit down with African producers, exporters and service providers who are looking for new routes to market. The platform is built around hosted buyers who are flown in and accommodated, so exporters meet decision-makers with real purchasing authority, without the cost and uncertainty of prospecting new markets alone.
"This year's buyer delegation is one of the strongest we've assembled," says Rex Bowden of Catalyze, organisers of Engage Trade Africa. "Having Takealot and Amazon in the room alongside specialist importers from the Gulf and East Africa gives our exporters a genuinely rare mix of scale and reach in one place. For African producers, that's the difference between a good meeting and a market-changing one."
The programme goes beyond matchmaking. Confirmed speakers include Odirile Ramasodi of the Export Credit Insurance Corporation of South Africa (ECIC), Farha Goolam of InvestDurban and Akash Singh of PUM Netherlands, who will share insights on export finance, investment and building export-ready businesses. Takealot & DHL Go Trade will also take part in the speaker programme, with its representative to be confirmed.
The event reinforces Durban and KwaZulu-Natal's position as a gateway for trade into and out of the continent. Previous editions have drawn more than 350 buyers and partners from over 30 countries, more than 250 African producers, and delivered upwards of 4,000 pre-scheduled meetings.
Registration to exhibit, attend as a delegate or apply to the Hosted Buyer Programme is open at www.engagetrade.africa.