Investors who braved a flooded camp to attend south Sudan's first trade fair found a boom in demand after years of war, but from such a low starting point that some asked if the region was yet ripe for business.
In a land of mud huts and swampy savannah, foreign firms are keen to quench the thirst for materials and expertise in areas from construction to farming that has been sparked by a 2005 peace deal that ended 21 years of conflict.
"This is a market we really want to penetrate because I believe it's the last great frontier of Africa," said George Musyoka, general manager of a Kenyan firm specialising in housing and solar panels.
Over the three-day fair, traders set up stalls in the window-cracked buildings of Juba University to sell generators, solar panels, paint, satellite telephones, soft drinks, books and medical supplies.