From Global Radio to Google - Black Country Business Festival boasts top, free business and communic

The first Black Country Business Festival is due to start on 23 April. With 122 events in total across all sectors, it is the biggest business event in the region.

Initiated by the Black Country Chamber of Commerce, the Business Festival is an annual fortnight of exciting and diverse business events of all shapes and descriptions running throughout the Black Country from 23 April until 4 May.

Seventy seven Professional Services, Business Support and Communications events form part of the two-week Festival. These include Google Digital Garage events on digital advertising and marketing plans, Global Radio’s showcase of its highly intuitive digital audio advertising software, DAX, as well as seminars on overseas trading, social media, gender pay gap prevention and GDPR.

There are opportunities to learn how to protect and stay in business at the FSB’s half day conference; how to write effective copy and winning tenders; speak with confidence in public, improve your business excellence and so much more.

Most events are completely free to attend. Tickets are all bookable through the website www.blackcountrybusinessfestival.com on a first come, first served basis.

Shaun Carvill (right) the Business Festival sector lead for communication and business support and managing director of digital agency, Clickingmad, is running an event aimed at sharing tips and tricks to make business websites stand out from the crowd. He said, “There are so many fantastic communications and business support events that will appeal to a wide range of businesses within and outside of the region.

“The Black Country is one of the most vibrant and exciting areas of the UK to do business. The Business Festival will help put the Black Country back where it belongs; at the top of the list when it comes to business investment, opportunities and job creation as well as helping to acknowledge where the Industrial revolution had its first great expansion.”

The Professional Services, Business Support and Communications sectors combined, have the third highest employment in the Black Country with 73,000 people working in the sector. There are 8,810 companies currently active in the region, with 185 of being high turnover (over £1Mil) businesses and 16 being large companies employing over 250 people.

The aim of the Festival is to bring the region together, enabling the local business community to engage, share best practice and collaborate with each other on a completely new level. There will be countless opportunities for businesses and individuals to meet, partner and learn from each other – helping the region, communications and business support industries and the Black Country businesses to prosper, people to develop and the economy grow.

The Black Country Business Festival was initiated by the Black Country Chamber of Commerce . It is partnered by DY5 – Dudley’s Business & Innovation Enterprise Zone and is run in association with Associated Events. The Festival is also supported by a number of organisations which all understand its importance and relevance and want to contribute to its success. These include the following sponsors: Cox & Plant and the Ramada Park Hall Hotel; and supporters: the University of Wolverhampton, Talbots Law, Wolverhampton Racecourse, Casino 36, Sandwell Council and Nachural. The Business Festival media partners are Express & Star, Midlands in Business, Signal 107 and Elonex.