Prince George is hosting a new event in support of small and home-based businesses at the Civic Centre in February.
The B2B Expo is being hosted jointly by Community Futures Fraser Fort George, the Prince George Chamber of Commerce and the City of Prince George on Feb. 14 and 15.
According to Community Futures general manager Anna Duff, the event is being established in response to local businesses’ desire for more opportunities to collaborate.
“By working together, both established businesses and emerging entrepreneurs can cultivate a network that powers growth and prosperity across our community,” Duff said in a media release.
“We are encouraging businesses to connect with each other by participating in the B2B Expo, so it’s intuitive that as a host organization, we also collaborate with other like-minded organizations to efficiently deliver a top-tier event for entrepreneurs. Bringing the City of Prince George and Prince George Chamber of Commerce together for this event will benefit all attendees and support local economic development.”
The expo kicks off on the evening of Friday, Feb. 14 with a networking session. The next morning, on Feb. 15, there will be learning sessions for participants.
That will be followed up by an open session from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. that day, where participating businesses will be able to show off their products and services to the public.
Speaking to the Citizen on Nov. 27, Community Futures planning and development co-ordinator Natalie Allan said to her knowledge there’s never been an event like this before in Prince George.
“We kind of did some scouting around in the planning phases this summer and didn’t find anything like this, not locally anyway,” Allan said. “There are small business fairs and things like that, but this is going to be samples (and) no sales on site ... it’s more of an opportunity for businesses to exhibit and showcase their services and products.”
While the expo is primarily aimed at small businesses, which Allan said are those with 50 or fewer employees, attendance won’t be restricted to just them. She said larger businesses and financial institutions who provide services to small businesses will be welcome.
The hope is, Allan said, that the expo becomes an annual event. She added that the organization is also hoping to serve as a “springboard” to set up industry clusters.
“So for example, the city is working hard on the clean fuels initiatives,” Allan said. “We can connect smaller businesses that might offer services like trucking or different services that would be required to support the clean fuels hub.”
The dates for the event were chosen because it won’t conflict with the earlier BC Natural Resources Forum and it will be the same weekend as Winterfest, Allan said.
For an exhibitor to attend and set up a table without access to power, the price will be $250. For a table with power, an exhibitor can send two representatives for $300.
Prospective entrepreneurs who don’t yet have a business but are interested in taking in the sessions and networking with others can take part for $150.
Representatives from community partners like the City of Prince George, the Prince George Chamber of Commerce, Tourism PG or the Northern Development Innovation Trust can also take part for $150.
For the Saturday showcase, members of the public pay $5 at the door to get in.
Registrations will open soon on Community Futures’ website.
Integris Credit Union has signed up as the event's title sponsor.
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