Liverpool’s IFB bows out after 50 days
LIVERPOOL’S International Festival for Business came to a close last night after running for 50 days.
But for the organisers, primarily the city’s economic development agency Liverpool Vision, the work will now begin to make sure all the leads and enquiries get translated into commercial deals.
Around 75,000 delegates from 88 countries attended more than 400 events during the festival which was kicked off by prime minister David Cameron on June 9.
He wants to see the annual value of UK exports double to £1tn by 2020 and IFB is part of that. Liverpool Vision’s own target is for the festival to generate more than £1.7bn in contracts and £100m in foreign direct over the next five years.
Max Steinberg, the festival’s director and head of Liverpool Vision, said: “For the team at Liverpool Vision, the hard work really starts on July 23, it’s about keeping those contacts warm, and following up the leads.
“In terms of the journey the city has been on, which for me it starts in 2010 with the World Expo in Shanghai and then the Global Entrepreneurs Congress, I think we are on the road to confirming the credentials of the city as being a meaningful business destination.”
Liverpool’s mayor Joe Anderson told TheBusinessDesk.com: “We’ll be evaluating the deals over the next weeks and months. We have quite a lot of leads with people who want to talk about doing business. UK Trade and Investment is delighted, deals were done with China and India.
“I’ve been inundated with requests to meet delegates in different countries. I would be absolutely amazed if millions of pounds of deals haven’t been done, but we’ll quantify them.”
IFB cost £15m to stage with £5m coming from Government and other amounts from the major sponsors, BT and Santander. Liverpool Vision is planning to submit an evaluation in October and will soon start preparing for the next IFB in 2016.
