Reed Exhibitions #BuyaBusiness Expo sponsored by Absa brought in millions of rands in deals for a number of exhibitors this year.
The event focused on franchising and business opportunities was staged at the Ticketpro Dome in Johannesburg during September. Built on over 20 years’ experience in running leading small business development events, the new-format #BuyaBusiness expo refreshed its approach to business development, business opportunities and franchising this year.
Reed Exhibitions MD Carol Weaving says the new event name heralded a new approach to business expos, with a stepped up focus on networking opportunities and knowledge sharing. “Our research over the past few years has shown a growing need for practical business advice, in-depth knowledge sharing and the active facilitation of business networking opportunities to help exhibitors and visitors get more out of these events,” she says.
The results were impressive. Approximately 7100 participants attended the event, a large proportion of them already business owners and investors seeking to grow their portfolios. A significant number of orders valued between R51 000 – R5 million were taken during the #BuyABusiness Expo, with the majority of the deals expected to convert within 3 – 12 months. 87.5% of exhibitors reported they were ‘very to completely satisfied’ with the show, 81% said they were likely to rebook for 2017, and 50% of exhibitors rebooked either at the show or directly after the show.
Visitors benefited from in-depth workshops, entrepreneurial master classes and the popular Full on Franchising Theatre, presented by SA Franchise Warehouse, with opportunities on show across a broad range of industry verticals from education and food through to auto spare, and requiring investments from as little as a few thousand rand to millions of rand.
Visitors polled during the event were extremely positive about their experience, with 75.5% of visitors saying they were ‘very likely’ to ‘extremely likely’ to visit the expo again and 68% saying the fact that the Small Business Expo and #BuyaBusiness expo were co-located were beneficial to them.
The #BuyaBusiness Expo is co-located with the Small Business expo, which is hosted in partnership with Eskom. The expos introduced business speed dating and investor networking opportunities, and enhanced the workshop programmes to deliver immense value add. Exhibitors and visitors also benefited from networking circles, online business matchmaking and a networking lounge.
Exhibitors commented:
- “There were lots of good quality people who understood what the show was all about.” – Sarah Demian, Masscash/Saverite
- “It was our first time here and we’ve already booked a spot for next year. We must have received two hundred and fifty leads in the first two days!” – Henriette Papenfus, Mathzone Express
- “We’ve had an exceptional show! We had to bring more people onto our stand to help manage all the visitors to our stand.” – Big Boy Scooters
- “We were surprised at how many positive responses and quality enquires we’ve received about our product. It was very worthwhile.” – Tiana Conradie, Professional Photo Booths
- “We’ve been consistently busy and the quality of visitors has been better than at any other show.” – Genevieve Allen, Sherpa Kids
“The success of this year’s event is an indication that times have changed and that exhibitors and visitors alike expect an interactive event experience that delivers measurable business results. Reed Exhibitions will build on this to further enhance these events and deliver even greater value next year,” says Weaving.
#BuyaBusiness Expo and Small Business Expo 2017 will be staged from 31 August – 2 September 2017 at the Ticketpro Dome. For more information and to secure exhibition space, go to www.BuyABusinessExpo.co.za
