In my endeavour to look at new concepts and creating new networks, I visited the 2018 International Business Festival in Liverpool, UK between the 11th June and the 25th June. The festival took the format of 3 days per week for 3 weeks, so a total of 9 sessions.
Although the main components of the talks were about the UK, I picked up a lot of concepts and ideas for the Austalasian sector. There was also the creation of new networks of investors and projects.
Each day had a different theme and within each day, there were micro themes.
Week 1
1. Global Economics
2. Urbanisation & Cities
3. Sustainable Energy
Week 2
4. Future Transport
5. Manufacturing
6. Global Logistics & Shipping
Week 3
7. Health & Life Sciences
8. Creative Industries
9. Sport, Culture & Travel
The one major story I kept hearing was the aggressive nature of British government spending. The figure of £6B were being spent to generate business in the UK. There were also the numerous government sponsored agencies that were created to aid small businesses to compete and participate within the EU and the rest of the world.
I attended one stand and it was showcasing a satellite imagery software to monitor mining and environmental projects. It was one of two things i saw that had direct relationship to the mineral resources sector that I seem to live in.
However, the lady explained to me what they do and I wondered if we had anything like that in Australia. They were called Catapult – Satellite Applications (https://sa.catapult.org.uk/about-us/) and they were one of 6 or 7 other catapults in the UK. There was one for different “sectors”.
Then there was the daily Investor Pitch which was the organized by the UK Business Angels Associations (https://www.ukbaa.org.uk/). These talks were the best thing about the whole festival. I found myself a comfortable couch (yes, they had one) and I sat down and listened to a myraid of 5 minute talks on everything from IT to Hemp building products.
While we are all going through our networking, we were graced with the company of Prince William.
Apart from the great talks and networking, the 2 weeks had other enjoyable parts, such as my trip around Manchester and Liverpool, my scenery along the journey by train from Manchester to Liverpool and my trip to Anfield…
Disclaimer
The information or opinions provided herein do not constitute investment advice, an offer or solicitation to subscribe for, purchase or sell the investment product(s) mentioned herein. It does not take into consideration, nor have any regard to your specific investment objectives, financial situation, risk profile, tax position and particular, or unique needs and constraints. Read full Disclaimer.
www.samso.com.au
If you find this article informative and useful, please help me share the information. I try and write about topics that are interesting and have the potential to be of investment value. It is not easy to find stories that fit those parameters.
If you or your organisation see the benefit of what Samso is trying to achieve and have a need to share your journey, please contact me on noel.ong@samso.com.au.