The first ever Black Country Business Festival was a great success and we’ve got some outstanding results to share with you.

Held from Monday 23 April to Friday 4 May 2018, the festival brought a packed two-week programme of more than a hundred business events to our region.

This festival was the brainchild of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, run in partnership with DY5 and managed by Associate Events. Its aim was to enable people from the local business community to engage with one another, share best practice and collaborate on a completely new level. It was also deemed a perfect way to showcase the outstanding innovation, culture and commerce of the area, to attract investment.

Over the festival fortnight, many different types of events took place, including conferences, seminars, plant tours, comedy nights, race days, expos, workshops, demonstrations, showcases, networking sessions and debates. The events covered a huge range of subjects, engaging with new and traditional industries.

In total the events brought over 4,200 attendees. Thirteen per cent of these came from outside the Black Country. An impressive 91 per cent of delegates rated the events they attended as being ‘good’ to ‘excellent’.

The Think Sandwell team was delighted to lead and/or host six events at Sandwell Business Solutions Centre, bringing more than 125 local businesspeople together for valuable networking, and sharing knowledge in areas that included GDPR, marketing and tendering. The feedback from attendees and presenters alike has been extremely positive and we’re already thinking about ideas for next year’s festival.

Corin Crane, chief executive of the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, said: “I am so proud of the way that the whole of the Black Country has got involved in the festival. It’s been a mind-blowing fortnight that has exceeded all expectations.

“The Business Festival is one of our first initiatives to reinforce our new ambition to become more modern and easily accessible to local businesses, so they can access the support they need to thrive. It has been a great example of our business community coming together to champion the local area and we want to continue to work with businesses that understand their role in the local community, their supply chain and their responsibility to their workforce.

“The 122 registered events seamlessly reflected of the strengths of the Black Country’s colourful sectorial and economy, providing an unparalleled showcase of the region’s fantastic innovation, commerce and culture.

“This is a growing region that has seen massive investment in recent years. New industries have established themselves here and are growing and thriving. It really feels like we are witnessing a renaissance in the Black Country right now, and the region is catapulting onto the national radar as a prime location to invest, work and do business.

“The Chamber will be looking to build on everything that has happened in this year’s festival and drive this forward in 2019.”

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands Combined Authority, said: “The festival has clearly been a tremendous success, not just in terms of in terms of numbers but also in terms of the profile it has given the Black Country.

“The Black Country business community stood up and shown what it is all about and really done itself proud.”

The Chamber is piloting the festival for three years, with a view to making it a permanent fixture in our region’s business calendar. For more information visit www.blackcountrybusinessfestival.com.