This year’s trade fair officially opened at the Gikondo Expo Grounds in Kicukiro District, with at least 345 exhibitors from around the region and beyond.The expo is yet another opportunity for local businesses and prospective entrepreneurs to interact with foreign exhibitors, with a view to learn a thing or two to help them succeed in the business world.Across the world business runs on more or less the same principles but the difference lies in the uniqueness of the products and the creativity and innovation of the business owner.In today’s business world of cutthroat competition it is important that businesspersons regularly add value to their products and how they serve their clients or else they will struggle to remain afloat.In fact some businesses that have failed to keep up with the times have ended up folding altogether.No matter how much capital or equity is at your disposal a business that does not move out of its comfort zone to better serve its existing markets and to break into new ones will hardly grow.Rwandan businesses are at a critical moment. They need to shape up to survive and thrive in the ever-growing competition as the country continues to open up to companies from the East African Community and Comesa blocs in the spirit of regional integration.Rather than whine about the fact that they are losing some level of monopoly, and thus clients, to new entrants in the local market, Rwandan companies and traders should seek to take their businesses to the next level by aiming higher, embracing new technologies and promotion techniques, as well as identifying and enhancing areas where they have a competitive advantage.Some of the exhibitors at the ongoing fair have sailed through equally rough waters in the past and have amassed experience that our local businesses can learn from.While the expo is an opportunity to make profits, it is a critical platform for local exhibitors to network, learn and explore new horizons.