Rx Africa

What Rx Africa does

RX Africa (legal entity Reed Exhibitions Limited) is the African regional subsidiary of RX Global (formerly Reed Exhibitions), the exhibitions division of RELX Group plc (LSE: REL). It organizes a portfolio of 12+ flagship trade shows, consumer shows, and conferences across South Africa, primarily in Johannesburg and Cape Town, under brands including Decorex Africa, 100% Design South Africa, Comic Con Africa, Comic Con Cape Town, Fame Week Africa, MIP Africa, ILTM Africa, World Travel Market Africa, IBTM Africa, Equal Africa, the African Tourism Investment Conference, and the Africa Automation Technology Fair.

The company's core business is event production and exhibition management, spanning B2B trade shows (interior design, travel/tourism, creative industries, industrial automation) and B2C consumer shows (pop culture, gaming). It generates revenue primarily through transaction fees — exhibitor booth rentals, sponsorship, attendee ticket sales, and event-specific partnerships — distributed across multiple verticals rather than concentrated in any single account. Strategic venue partnerships with the Sandton Convention Centre, Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC and CTICC2), Johannesburg Expo Centre, Gallagher Convention Centre, and Norval Foundation underpin the event calendar.

The company is led by Managing Director Carol Weaving and is pursuing a strategic shift from one-off flagship events toward year-round digital community platforms intended to extend engagement between annual physical event cycles. Operational reach is concentrated in South Africa despite the pan-African "RX Africa" branding, with events extending into 2027. The parent RELX Group provides capital backing, brand credibility, and shared global infrastructure across its 400+ events in 43 sectors and 22 countries, but RX Africa itself is a regional sub-scale player relative to RX's US, European, and Asian operations.

Name

Rx Africa

Legal name

Reed Exhibitions Limited

Website

https://rxglobal.co.za

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

RX Africa (Reed Exhibitions Limited) is the South African exhibitions arm of RELX Group's RX Global, operating 12+ flagship trade shows and consumer events — including Comic Con Africa, Decorex Africa, and WTM Africa — across Johannesburg and Cape Town for B2B and B2C audiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Show and Exhibition Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

General Consumer Expos & Trade Shows (MPAGAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Virtual Trade Shows & Expos (Digital Booths, Lead Capture) (MPAGAOAB)

Keywords

• Trade show exhibitions
• Consumer events
• Business conferences
• Event management services
• B2B networking events

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Event Participation and Exhibition Fees: Revenue is generated through businesses and individuals paying to participate in and exhibit at trade shows, consumer shows, and conferences organized by RX Africa.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

RX Africa organizes and runs a portfolio of trade shows, consumer shows, and conferences across Africa for businesses and consumers across sectors including interior design, pop culture, travel and tourism, creative industries, and industrial automation. The company sells exhibition space, sponsorships, and visitor registrations for these events, and is extending its offering into year-round digital communities tied to its flagship brands.

Product overview

RX Africa operates a portfolio of 12+ flagship trade show and consumer event brands spanning diverse sectors including interior design (Decorex Africa, 100% Design South Africa), pop culture (Comic Con Africa, Comic Con Cape Town), travel and tourism (World Travel Market Africa, ILTM Africa, IBTM Africa), creative industries (Fame Week Africa, MIP Africa), and industrial sectors (Africa Automation Technology Fair). The company also hosts conference programs including Equal Africa and the African Tourism Investment Conference. Beyond physical events, RX Africa is building year-round digital community platforms to maintain ongoing engagement with their business customers. The company is part of the RELX Group plc and produces over 400 events globally in 43 sectors across 22 countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Comic Con Africa: Major pop culture and entertainment convention featuring comics, gaming, movies, and celebrity guests.
• Decorex Africa
• World Travel Market (WTM) Africa
• Fame Week Africa
• MIP Africa
• ILTM Africa

Products and services

• Decorex Africa Flagship interior design and décor trade show held in Johannesburg, featuring home interiors, gardens, and gifts sectors for trade buyers and consumers.
• 100% Design South Africa Premium design trade show featuring contemporary interior design, architecture, and creative industries, co-located with Decorex Africa at Sandton Convention Centre.
• Comic Con Africa Pop culture and entertainment consumer convention featuring comics, gaming, movies, television, and cosplay, held at Johannesburg Expo Centre.
• Fame Week Africa Creative and entertainment industry week in Cape Town covering film, television, music, and branded entertainment, held at Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC2).
• MIP Africa Content, entertainment, and media market event connecting African and international film, TV, and digital content creators and buyers, held at Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC2).
• ILTM Africa Exclusive luxury travel trade show connecting luxury travel suppliers with buyers in Africa, held at Norval Foundation, Cape Town.
• World Travel Market (WTM) Africa Leading global travel and tourism event featuring networking, conferences, and deal-making for the African travel industry, held at Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).
• Incentives, Business Travel & Meetings Expo (IBTM) Africa Business travel, meetings, and incentives expo connecting corporate event planners with suppliers, co-located with WTM Africa at CTICC.
• Equal Africa Diversity and inclusion conference exploring equality and representation in the travel and tourism industry, co-located with WTM Africa at CTICC.
• Comic Con Cape Town Cape Town edition of the Comic Con pop culture convention featuring comics, gaming, and entertainment, held at Cape Town International Convention Centre.
• Africa Automation Technology Fair Trade fair for automation technology, industrial equipment, and engineering solutions in Africa, held at Gallagher Convention Centre, Johannesburg.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered important.

• Sandton Convention CentreimportantOthersMajor venue partnership for hosting Decorex Africa and other events in Johannesburg
• Cape Town International Convention CentreimportantOthersPartnership for hosting Fame Week Africa, World Travel Market Africa, and Comic Con Cape Town events
• Johannesburg Expo CentreimportantOthersVenue partnership for hosting Comic Con Africa

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hyve Group: UK-listed international events organizer running consumer and trade events across fashion, food and technology verticals. Comparable mid-cap events company with similar GTM motion of vertical-specific flagship exhibitions.
• Clarion Events: UK-based global events organizer operating consumer and trade shows across entertainment, retail, and energy. Comparable mid-sized multinational events company with consumer expo focus and similar GTM motion.
• Tarsus Group (Informa): Formerly independent B2B events company focused on emerging markets including Africa, acquired by Informa. Historical overlap with RX Africa in Africa-based exhibitions (e.g., travel, healthcare), making it a direct comparable for sector adjacency.
• Messe Frankfurt South Africa: Global trade fair organizer with dedicated South African operations running consumer and trade exhibitions such as Automechanika Johannesburg and Heimtextil. Directly comparable as a multinational exhibition organizer with Africa exposure and venue-based B2B/consumer event models.
• dmg events: Private-equity owned international events company running large-scale trade shows across multiple sectors including construction, mining, hospitality and energy in Africa and the Middle East. Comparable business model of organizing B2B exhibitions with transaction-fee revenue and venue partnerships.

Broad incumbents

• GL Events: French-listed global events company with venue management and trade show organization across multiple regions. Comparable multi-vertical events portfolio with operations in emerging markets, though more focused on venue infrastructure than RX's content-led model.
• Informa Markets: Events and exhibitions division of Informa plc operating hundreds of trade shows globally across beauty, food, healthcare and technology. Larger incumbent with overlapping vertical mix; while Africa footprint is smaller, comparable in scale and multi-sector organizing capability.

Regional players

• Montgomery Africa (Africa Trade Fair): Africa-focused events subsidiary of Montgomery Group running trade fairs such as Africa's Big 7 and SAITEX. Direct regional peer specializing in African exhibitions, particularly in food, hospitality and retail sectors.
• ExpoGroup UAE: Dubai-headquartered trade fair organizer hosting events in Middle East and Africa across construction, food and consumer goods. Regional peer targeting similar emerging-market exhibitors with venue-based trade show model.

Others

• Sandton Convention Centre (operator): Major South African venue hosting many of RX Africa's flagships (Decorex Africa, 100% Design SA). Adjacent ecosystem participant - not a direct competitor but a key venue partner whose commercial terms and slot allocations materially affect RX Africa's event delivery.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/reedexpoafrica

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Rx Africa