MoBay Expo 2022 officially launched for business enthusiasts
Published:Friday | August 19, 2022 | 12:06 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Business operators and enthusiasts across Jamaica have just over two months to prepare for the Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s (MBCCI) Expo 2022, for which an official media launch was held on Wednesday at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in Rose Hall, St James.
The expo, which is being held during the MBCCI’s 90th anniversary as an organisation, will be hosted in partnership with the St James Municipal Corporation at the convention centre over three days, November 4-6, under the theme ‘Building resilience, creating opportunities’.
A TEASER
Attendees at the media launch were treated to a mini expo, inclusive of a small tour of display booths, as a teaser preview of what is to come during the main event’s weekend of activities for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), larger business organisations, and entrepreneurs in Montego Bay and the wider Jamaica.
Oral Heaven, president of the MBCCI, told Wednesday’s launch that the upcoming event will seek to catapult Montego Bay to ‘higher heights’, even as Jamaica celebrates its 60th anniversary as an independent nation.
“The Montego Bay Convention Centre will come alive with professionals, traders, MSMEs, large corporations, budding entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts from all over Jamaica, gathering here at the convention centre for the trade expo. This year’s expo marks a return to the scale and breadth of pre-pandemic events for the first time in two years, and for this expo, we expect to take this city to a higher level,” said Heaven.
Damia Dawes-Monthrope, the MBCCI’s second vice-president and chairman of the expo committee, pointed to several of Montego Bay’s successes as a city, including the resilience of local businesses in spite of the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Jamaica is celebrating 60 years of Independence, and Montego Bay, being the Second City, has always punched above its weight. There is really nothing ‘second’ about it, and Montego Bay carries Jamaica’s success and growth on its back,” said Dawes-Monthrope.
“We are the Mecca of tourism, and a hub of the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector. COVID-19 has affected many companies, but as you can see the evidence today, we are still here, which means we had to pivot, ‘wheel and come again’, and we had to reconsider and reimagine our businesses,” Dawes-Monthrope added.
Sectors which will be represented and provide networking opportunities during the expo include hospitality, construction, manufacturing, entertainment, security, and technology, and will incorporate businesses operated by the local Chinese and Indian communities.
Prospective attendees can also look forward to the expo’s Invest MoBay Forum segment, which will target investors and business executives seeking to learn about emerging opportunities in Montego Bay, with special focus on sectors such as agriculture, light manufacturing, and the creative industries.