A prosperity forum will be the hot new feature at this year’s Business Expo in Nanaimo.
The Island’s biggest business trade show is back for 2022 after a COVID-19 hiatus and will happen Wednesday, Sept. 28, at the Vancouver Island Conference Centre.
The expo was initially planned for this past spring, but was pushed back by the pandemic.
“The marketing runway was just too short this spring to do anything sensible, so when we moved it to the fall, it made all the sense in the world and I think we’ll do quite well,” said Kim Smythe, CEO of the Greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce, which puts on the event.
This year the expo’s accompanying forum will look at the various business sectors in Nanaimo and their approaches to putting the pandemic in the past. The forum will also introduce the Nanaimo Prosperity Corporation, a new economic development agency, aligned with the city’s internal economic development team, but designed to work outside of city hall.
Forum leaders will present ideas and updates on business development, give status reports, and outline directions the NPC might take to optimize opportunities for economic growth. Subjects to be covered include collaborations and partnerships, infrastructure investments, the changing look of real estate, and the future of the mid-Island transportation and industrial hub.
Past years have seen the event grow to more than 100 exhibitors occupying all available exhibition space at the VICC and Smythe said this year’s expo is sold-out.
The event happens at the conference centre Wednesday, Sept. 28, noon to 7 p.m. Expo admission is free, but registration for the forum sessions is recommended. The forum luncheon is $30 per person. Visit www.nanaimochamber.bc.ca for more information.
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