When I began to think of creating and planning for both these events, I had in mind to offer Gozo businesses - whether family businesses, corporate organisations, SMEs, Start-ups, industrial, manufacturing, hospitality or other type of business - the opportunity to join a new business community, with a new mentality and a fresh approach to fostering business networking and business development, with opportunities for everyone.  The team at MBR Publications Ltd have worked hard over recent months to make this trade fair a reality, as well as the Gozo Business Awards to the Island of Gozo with new concepts, attractive packages for exhibitors and also a new dimension of doing business. We have left no stone unturned to inform everyone so that no one is left out and it will then be up to the business entrepreneurs to take advantage of such a platform of opportunities.

Our awards programme is the only audited and accredited awards programme of its kind in Gozo and is endorsed by the European Business Network. I am highlighting the most significant points worth mentioning regarding these two prestigious events :

1. This is the first time an EXPO trade exhibition of this type is being held in Gozo, as well as the first time that the Gozo Business Awards are taking place and we invite all business companies - and members of the general public - to attend and show support by their presence.

2. It is through the initiative of the Ministry for Gozo that such events have been made possible and the Ministry has given its support and endorsement to help such an extraordinary business networking platform, where various business leaders and other trading firms will be engaging in business development, investment, networking and also selling B2B/B2C.

3. The businesses are from various backgrounds such as: Eco/Green environment; Agri-food; Financial; Banking; Hotel/Hospitality; Real Estate; Communications; Transport; Courier; Travel; Shipping; Furniture; Gaming; Industrial; Manufacturing; Technology; ICT; Cloud Computing; Arts; Culture; Music; Alternative Energy Resource Companies; Business organisations; SMEs; Start-ups; F&B; Wines & Spirits; Sweet/Confectionery/Catering; Solar Engineering; Healthcare; Bathrooms and Ceramics; Security; Fire & Safety; General Services; Printing; Gardening; Building and Construction; Interior Design; Engineering; Water resources; New Technologies; Healthcare and Motoring.

4. MBR Publications has created these unique events to give importance to the Gozo business community, to change the Gozo business landscape in line with the Gozo Ministry's agenda and to create more business and trading opportunities, with the aim that these will become the most anticipated business events in Gozo.

5. This is an exciting and literally one-of-a-kind experience and MBR Publications Ltd are privileged to be part of a similar project and to work with the Ministry for Gozo.

6. These events are creating a new dimension and a new mentality of doing business in Gozo.

7. The amount of logistics, the number of challenges, the different competences, business sizes, levels of business and stature involved in the EXPO is proof of Gozo's growing business culture and business development. We are proud to be a catalyst for all this, with everybody working towards one goal: to make an exceptional experience for the Gozo business community and also EXPO visitors, as well as for the Island, and to make sure that it lives long in the memory.

8. This is also an event reaching its climax with the Gozo Business Awards, where over 300 business leaders will be celebrating the best innovative, outstanding and unique business role models in Gozo for the first time ever.

9. The Gozo Ministry is therefore proud to be supporting and sponsoring these events, a record of firsts and further achievement carried out by the Gozo Ministry, despite all the challenges involved.

10. The figures involved give an idea of the scale: over 50 exhibitors, including Maltese and foreign exhibitors and investors, another first and another milestone, with sustainability KPIs (key performance indicators), which have been very high and very challenging - the Gozo EXPO and the Gozo Business Awards are truly a benchmark for future sustainability practices and events in Gozo.

My team and I have spent a great deal of time on building a vision for the Gozo Expo - which we have done. We have a strategy, we know the type of industries we want to bring in, we know that we need to bring technology companies - because that is how the world is progressing - but we also know that there is something special about Gozo, that it is now hosting this event that was important for the history of MBR Publications and also Gozo, so we also wanted to retain some of the elements that make the Island special. We have been planning and working for both events and that cannot be short of amazing: we need to make sure that it has a good legacy.

The social legacy is there, meaning the inclusion of people and making them feel that they are part of the EXPO. The element of pride has also been very substantial. But the EXPO is also a vehicle for us to tell people about the things that are important for the future of Gozo. To inspire them, particularly the younger generations, and to make them feel that they have a part to play in this world.

For more information about the Gozo EXPO, Gozo Business Awards, attendance and exhibit packages please contact Margaret Brincat on 9940 6743/[email protected]

The Ministry for Gozo offers information and support to interested businesses, as well as through business support schemes.

https://mgoz.gov.mt/en/Pages/Home.aspx