There is a general consensus the world over that resources and the environment need to be protected. While the concept of a circular economy has been encouraged in various economies, many companies have also been joining these conversations around sustainability and change. At Mr. Green Africa, our mandate is to change the perception of waste and we were delighted to be invited to share our vision at K2019, the world's largest trade fair for the plastics and rubber industry. It is good that leaders in the plastic industry have joined the conversation and are acting on creating a more sustainable plastics industry.
The K Trade Fair, which is held in Dusseldorf, Germany every 3 years attracted 224,116 Trade visitors from 168 countries and had 3,330 exhibitors at the just-ended 2019 edition. For a total of eight days, the overarching message of re-thinking the use of plastic through adopting a circular economy as opposed to the traditional linear model was amplified. The key phrase "Reflect. Re-Think. Think Laterally. Think Afresh" resonated in all the exhibitors' stands. At the backdrop of the trade fair was a forum for the exchange of information, ideas and views. This year's K Special's motto was " Plastic Shape the Future ". The forums had a special focus on innovations in the polymers and the industry with regard to resource conservation, digitization, renewable energies, and sustainability.
A special stage was set at the Plastic Europe Forum throughout the fair and our CEO, Keiran Smith was part of a panel discussion on the topic, "Plastics for Sustainable Development." During this discussion, Keiran emphasized the need for collaboration of different industries, agencies, and individuals in order to tackle plastic waste problems. He reinforced the need to have a human-centered approach to providing solutions to plastic waste problems. Co-founders Keiran Smith and Karim Debabe went on to deliver a keynote at the VDMA Pavilion where the duo made a presentation on the Mr. Green Africa business model. The K2019 fair was a resounding success for us at Mr. Green Africa as it also provided us with an opportunity to network and engage with potential partners while also learning from the K2019 attendees.