More than 2,000 visitors attended a West Midlands-wide virtual expo as Chambers across the region continue to lead the support for firms through the COVID-19 crisis.
Around 200 exhibitors – including over 50 from Herefordshire & Worcestershire – signed up to the West Midlands Business Week & Virtual Expo, which was organised by five Chambers of Commerce across the region.
It was a chance to pilot both a virtual expo experience and the five Chambers working in collaboration on a region-wide event. The collaboration saw the Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Black Country and Coventry & Warwickshire Chambers all work together for the benefit of Members.
As well as being able to visit virtual stands, which included information on each exhibitor, access to their website and video content, the expo also offered a series of business focused webinars across the week, delivered in the Virtual Seminar Room.
The Herefordshire & Worcestershire region which was sponsored by Hewett Recruitment along with media sponsors LocaliQ, took the lead on Wednesday and visitors heard from several experts including Hewett Recruitment, DRPG, EBC Group and Strong & Herd on topical subjects via the webinar feature.
Olivia Williams, Events & Training Manager at the Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce, said: “We are delighted to have delivered our first week-long West Midlands expo in collaboration with other Chambers across the region.
“We’re all still feeling our way in this new virtual world and, whilst we had to overcome some difficulties getting used to new technology, it was important that we tried something new for our members. The feedback we’ve received has been excellent from those who attended across the week.
“Throughout the pandemic, Chambers have been pioneering ways to help companies through the crisis and the expo was an opportunity for businesses to come together in a virtual way to network and market themselves.
“We were very grateful for the support from headline sponsors Hewett Recruitment, which helped to make the event a success, and for the update on skills and the future workforce and the exciting opportunities this is bringing to the region.
Sharon Smith, Chief Executive for the Herefordshire & Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce said: “I would like to thank all sponsors, exhibitors, visitors and fellow Chambers for all the support and hard work in order to provide this opportunity to the businesses across the West Midlands.
“This pilot event was created to provide a spotlight for businesses to raise their brand profile to a much larger audience than usual. Attendees also gained informative insights into the biggest issues facing businesses at the moment thanks to our expert and topical webinars.
“The opportunity to collaborate with Chambers across the region to bring together so many businesses in a virtual environment is something we have never done before and further shows how innovation and collaboration can result in success.”