What is IFB2016?
The International Festival for Business 2016 (IFB2016) aspires to be the world’s leading business event this year. Expected to attract more than 30,000 delegates from the UK and overseas, it aims to be a buzzing marketplace for companies to create connections and do deals.
The festival takes place in Liverpool over three themed weeks from 13 June to 1 July:
- Week 1 – Manufacturing
- Week 2 – Energy and Environment
- Week 3 – Creative and Digital
Each week will be packed with high-quality content, including:
- One-to-one appointments with suppliers, buyers and investors (Meet Your Future Deal)
- Live export and investment opportunities
- A range of free business services including legal, financial and marketing advice (Meet the Specialist Advisor)
- Expert-led sector-specific seminars
- World-renowned events such as TEDx, Accelerate 2016 and the Horasis Global Meeting
- Large-scale networking
- Inspiring talks from leaders in the fields of business, innovation and technology (Blue Skies)
The UK- ASEAN Business Council will be holding four different events throughout the 3 weeks;
Wednesday 15 June 2016
HSBC’s ASEAN Trade Exchange
Friday 17 June 2016
The UK’s Place in the Asian Century
Wednesday 22 June 2016
ASEAN Festival for Business
Wednesday 29 June 2016
Innovate ASEAN
Delivered by Liverpool Vision in partnership with UK Trade & Investment and the GREAT Britain Campaign, and with the support of the UK Government, IFB2016 will feature the GREAT British Showcase – an exhibition of UK innovation, technology, design and creativity. It will also feature the Exporting is GREAT Export Hub and a changing, interactive display of UK industry sectors and inward-investment opportunities.
IFB2016 will showcase the UK as the go-to place to do business and will build on the success of IFB2014, which attracted companies from 92 countries and facilitated export and investment deals worth over £280 million.
The festival will take place at Exhibition Centre Liverpool, a state-of-the-art event complex on the city’s picturesque waterfront. There will be a rich and varied cultural programme for delegates to enjoy while in Liverpool – a former European Capital of Culture.
Attending the festival is free, but to guarantee entry delegates must register for the online Business Club – a bespoke business-matching service (also free). The Business Club will also provide exclusive benefits during the run-up to the festival, including a range of free business-support services.
Financial incentives are available for British and overseas organisations recruiting delegations for the festival (Travel to Trade/Fly to Buy), as well as discounted train travel for attending companies.
The festival has several ambassadors including Wayne Hemingway MBE, Co-founder of Red or Dead; Lord Bilimoria CBE, DL, Co-founder and Chairman of Cobra Beer; Sir Keith Burnett, CBE, FRS, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sheffield; interior designer Kelly Hoppen MBE; Manish Madhvani, Co-founder and Managing Partner of GP Bullhound; Will Butler-Adams OBE, CEO of Brompton; and Claire Braithwaite, Head of Tech North. In addition Jude Kelly, Artistic Director of London’s Southbank Centre, is IFB2016’s Creative Director – leading on the look and feel of the festival and its cultural programme.
In terms of sponsors, the festival’s main partners are HSBC, BT and Google. Official supporters are Arup, DLA Piper, DONG Energy, Heathrow, PwC, Virgin Trains and Siemens. Media partners are The Times, The Sunday Times, Bloomberg and Insider Media Limited.
