Trade officials, diplomatic missions, business chambers and companies involved in international commerce are set to take their networking beyond boardrooms as the International Trade and Investments Games brings them together for a week of sporting activities in Lagos and Abuja.
Deji Ajomale-McWord, publisher of Globalafri Diplomat and chief organiser of the games, said the idea was to create an environment where people working across Nigeria’s trade and investment system could build relationships outside formal meetings.
‘For the first time in Nigeria, bilateral chambers of commerce, Nigerian MDAs serving in the trade and investment sector, maritime industry, aviation and businesses in the international trade and investment community will gather in an informal forum where we will exercise the body and mind, while deepening camaraderie,’ Ajomale-McWord said.
The games, organised by Globalafri Diplomat, will hold in Lagos from October 16 to 18 and Abuja from October 23 to 25, bringing together representatives of consulates, embassies, trade offices, bilateral chambers, government agencies and businesses.
The programme includes golf, football, chess, tennis, badminton and table tennis, with organisers positioning the activities as an informal setting for participants who ordinarily interact through trade negotiations, investment meetings and official engagements.
The event is an expansion of the Trade Relations Cup, a golf tournament launched in 2024 that brought together players from the diplomatic and business communities. The first edition attracted support from the Lagos State Ministry of Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investments, European Business Chamber Nigeria, Franco-Nigeria Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Delegation of German Industries, Friends of Ireland Nigeria and Nigeria-American Chamber of Commerce.
The latest edition will widen the format beyond golf. In Lagos, the Trade Relations Cup will be held at Lakowe Lakes Golf and Country Club, while the Goal for Trade football tournament will take place at Upbeat Recreational Center in Lekki.
The games are also linked to the Trade Commissioners Summit, a subnational diplomacy initiative that seeks to connect governments with international investors and development partners. The summit was last co-hosted with Afreximbank.
Among the organisations expected to participate are the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission, Lagos State Ministry of Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investments, Franco-Nigeria Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and Nigeria-American Chamber of Commerce.
The organisers are holding the games ahead of Globalafri Diplomat’s international trade edition, which will feature Wamkele Mene, secretary-general of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
For businesses and trade officials, the sporting programme offers another route for interaction at a time when commercial diplomacy increasingly involves relationships between government agencies, foreign missions, chambers and the private sector.
The organisers said the objective is to use the informal setting to strengthen relationships among people involved in international trade and investment, with the expectation that some of those connections will extend beyond the sporting activities.