July 2017

WARWICKSHIRE MEANS BUSINESS

Coventry & Warwickshire Business Festival will put region on the national stage

A prestigious new event will enter the local business calendar in November with the holding of the inaugural Coventry & Warwickshire Business Festival.

From 20 November to 1 December, the festival will stage an exciting two-week programme of business events across the entire region.

The Festival, which will become an annual event, has been developed by the Coventry & Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and the Coventry & Warwickshire Growth Hub to stimulate business growth in the area.

The fortnight of events will create opportunities and time for topical discussion, enabling the region to come together once a year to interact, engage, promote, support, learn and discuss business under one banner – the Coventry & Warwickshire Business Festival.

An expected 50-75 seminars, lectures, workshops and conferences will take place within the two-week window, attracting an anticipated attendance of between 5,000 and 7,500 visitors, of whom around 15-18% will come from outside Coventry & Warwickshire.

Warwickshire County Council will be heavily involved and head of transport and economy Mark Ryder believes the festival will be a tremendous showcase for both the county and the region.

"The county council is delighted to join with our partners across Coventry and Warwickshire to help deliver an event which will truly show how much our region has to offer," he said.

"With thousands of visitors expected we will host a number of events at various locations to showcase the skills and innovation which underpin this region's reputation as a go-to place for business."

At a prestigious launch event at Warwick Castle, business and political leaders heard how the festival will put the region’s business on a national stage on an unprecedented level. Run by businesses for businesses, the Festival will highlight Coventry & Warwickshire’s place as a renowned centre for knowledge, commerce, culture and innovation - and a fantastic area for new companies to invest.

Jonathan Browning, chair of CWLEP, said: “The business festival aims to raise the profile of Coventry & Warwickshire to a local, regional and national audience in a way that’s never been done in this region before. It will provide a spectacular platform to show how our businesses can unite to be a driving force in commerce, innovation and culture. We want to use the festival to demonstrate how Coventry & Warwickshire is the ‘Knowledge Capital of the UK’ and show the rest of the UK Coventry & Warwickshire’s strengths, opportunities and potential as a beacon for investment.”

Louise Bennett, chief executive of the Coventry & Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “We are very keen to be part of this exciting development in the annual business calendar and we want to involve as many businesses in our network as possible, from SMEs right through to the many global brands that are based here.”

Any business or organisation of any size can apply to run an event. Events can take any shape from a small networking meeting, workshop or seminar to a large trade show or a national conference.

Events will be structured into sectors to drive the region’s position as a global hub of knowledge-based industry. With strengths in many sectors, such as advanced manufacturing, engineering & technology and gaming, many local and nationally recognisable brands and speakers, from global blue-chip companies to SMEs, will be involved.

For more information, or to get involved - including applying to run an event, visit www.cwbusinessfestival.com or contact hello@cwbusinessfestival.com

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