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Venturefest 2015

More than 600 businesses, entrepreneurs, innovators and investors attended this year’s Venturefest North East making it the most successful to date.

The one-day event, which took place at Hilton Newcastle Gateshead, is designed to support and accelerate North East SME business growth through innovation.

As well as keynote speakers and interactive workshop sessions, attendees at this year’s Venturefest North East also experienced the Innovation Showcase, which gave a platform to 15 of the region’s most innovative companies. Meet the Investor and Business Growth Service sessions also provided important networking opportunities.

Hans Möller, Innovation Director at the North East LEP was one of this year’s keynote speakers. Speaking at the event, Hans said: “Innovation is one of the key priorities in the North East LEP’s Strategic Economic Plan, and our aim is for the North East to become recognised as one of Europe’s leading innovative hotspots.

“Part of our broader strategy is to build an ‘innovation ecosystem’, promoting dialogue and collaboration to create new products and services to deliver growth, and bring more and better jobs to the region.”

The event provided a unique opportunity for regional businesses to meet and converse with investors, entrepreneurs and advisors, increasing the number and success of innovative products coming out of the region.

During this year’s event there were 223 scheduled meetings between businesses and investors, with many more informal meetings happening on the day.

There were also 119 scheduled meetings with 30 experts provided by partner organisations including event sponsors Innovate UK, the Knowledge Transfer Network and the North East Local Enterprise Partnership.

84% of attendees confirmed they would attend Venturefest North East events in the future demonstrating how the event is building its profile both regionally and nationally, as part of the wider Venturefest Network.

For more information about this year’s Venturefest North East and to sign up to the newsletter to receive details about next year’s event, visit venturefestnortheast.com