Worcestershire’s businesses are being urged to register for the International Festival of Business (IFB 2016), taking place from 13 June to 1 July, with 300 overseas businesses now confirmed for the festival, bringing thousands of delegates from around the world.
Organisers of the festival have announced a further five delegations from Malaysia and Italy have committed to the event, which will take place on the city’s waterfront for three weeks in June. This raises the total confirmed international delegations to 54. Between them they will bring 321 international businesses to British shores and more are set to attend, with businesses and governments from around the world working with IFB2016 to put together more delegations.
It is estimated that around a third of the 30,000-plus delegates, who will meet at Exhibition Centre Liverpool from 13 June to 1 July, will be from overseas and more are expected to sign up. The delegates are travelling more than one million miles in total to forge trade links with British SMEs and larger businesses looking to export products or services to markets in Europe, USA, China, India, Africa, South East Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
The big name speaker line-up for this year’s event includes Reggae Reggae Sauce founder Levi Roots, designer and entrepreneur Wayne Hemingway MBE and Sarah Wood, CEO of social media advertising platform Unruly.
Chris Heyes, Head of International at IFB2016, said: “The number of delegations that are coming to IFB2016 with a keen interest in forging links with British SMEs, start-ups and entrepreneurs is a true testament to the significance of this festival.
“There will be deals struck, relationships formed and business plans put in place that could mean every UK business who is getting involved with IFB2016 will trade with every continent in the world.
“That is why IFB2016 is the premier festival for business anywhere and also why delegates travelling from as far as Malaysia and Canada are flying in ready to join new markets that may not be easily accessible, particularly for smaller businesses.
“For SMEs, there is clear opportunity for them to be put on a global platform and connect with businesses from around the world, whether to do deals, find suppliers and develop new partnerships.
“It is a very exciting time for business and Liverpool is a very exciting place to be to enable global business to happen.”
To attend IFB2016 and make the most of the opportunities the international delegations will bring, businesses should join the International Festival for Business Club for free via the IFB2016 website.
Registering also allows local delegates to access IFB2016’s free digital matching service, which connects companies to buyers, suppliers, investors and other potential partners from around the world.