The closing date for the Durban Business Fair’s exhibitors registration, 28 June 2013, is fast approaching. All exhibitors are strongly urged to take advantage of the limitless opportunities offered by the Fair by registering timeously. This is the last opportunity for businesses to participate in this momentous edition of the Fair which will be celebrating 15 Years of Growing Sustainability. Confirmation of registration after the closing date will result in disappointment so make sure you take advantage of this opportunity before it is too late.

The objective of the Fair is to showcase high quality goods and services produced by businesses in the eThekwini Region and to be a platform to discuss innovative business ideas and conclude business deals. The Durban Business Fair has a chequered history of forming connections between business owners, encouraging the development of SMME’s and fostering the growth of established businesses.

The Fair continues to inspire and empower SMMEs to become self-sustained, profitable businesses.

Phillip Sithole, Head of the Business Support, Tourism and Markets Unit, says that the Durban Business Fair is a vehicle aimed at facilitating business growth and it has made a significant contribution to the development of the eThekwini economy. “Businesses should take full advantage of this comprehensive and reputable business development platform in order to unlock new markets and access essential business information and opportunities, which will assist them to achieve sustainable growth,” Sithole said.

The Fair has been enhanced with more functionality for exhibitors and sector specific business forums through Retail Cocktail Evenings.

As part of celebrating 15 years of success and growing sustainability, the Fair will run in conjunction with the World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (WASME) 19^th International Conference on Small and Medium Enterprises (ICSME) on the 18 -21 September 2013 at Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre. This conference is hosted by eThekwini Municipality in partnership with Osiba Management.

The theme of the Conference is “Beyond the downturn – revitalising the global economy through small and medium enterprises”. The Conference will feature panellists who will be dealing with various best practice topics – enterprise development and access to finance.

A limited number of exhibitors who complete their registration early for the Durban Business Fair will be subsidised to attend the Conference complimentarily, this will be on a first come first serve basis. The Municipality encourages exhibitors to register early in order to be part of this ground-breaking conference, which will be staged in Durban for the first time.

The Municipality encourages SMMEs, cooperatives, Government departments and entities, Non-Profit Organisations and other stakeholders to make use of this opportunity and register to participate in the upcoming Fair.>

For the ease of registration exhibitors can register online on www.dbnbusinessfair.com and for regular updates join us on Facebook: Durban Business Fair and follow us on Twitter: @DBNBusinessFair.

For bookings businesses can contact:

Ikhono Communications on 031 266 9937 /8 or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Durban Business Fair which was launched today continues to inspire and empower SMMEs to become self-sustained businesses. This significant event has not just provided emerging entrepreneurs with the opportunity to promote their businesses but it has also afforded them a networking platform to interact with well established businesses, development agencies and funding institutions.

The Mayor Cllr James Nxumalo says that the Durban Business Fair has grown in leaps and bounds over the past 14 years and has made a significant contribution to the development of the economy in eThekwini.

“The Fair has made tremendous investment towards the growth and development of small business sector in recent times and will continue to do so in order to ensure job creation and fight the scourge of poverty,” said Nxumalo.

With the launch of the Durban Business Fair in celebrating the 15th years of Growing Sustainability, the level of growth and impact this event has to the business community is expected to double in terms of the economic spin offs to the business sector and for the benefit of the people of eThekwini.

Over the past 14 years of existence, the Fair has generated international interest and as such the City is expecting more international buyers and investors to visit the Fair this year.

The objective of the Fair is to showcase high quality goods and services produced by businesses in the eThekwini Region and to be a platform to discuss and conclude business deals.

The Fair is a continuously growing business program, and this year it will again feature the Exhibition which is targeting 500 exhibitors – businesses and support agencies, biased towards manufacturers, construction and engineering services. The other component is the International Conference on Small and Medium Size Enterprises – facilitated by the World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (WASME).

Some of the key achievements of the Fair over the past 14 year include, the growth from 100 to 500 exhibitors, and on average the Fair attracts 11 000 visitors annually. The Fair has produced many success stories including an ICT business that is operating at a Global level, women owned businesses that are operating at national level and businesses that are getting work from the private sector – not only relying on Government tenders.

Other significant achievements include the increased participation from Corporates, increased participation of businesses coming from beyond the eThekwini region, including international businesses through the Municipality’s Sister City programme.

As part of celebrating 15 years of success and growing sustainability, the Fair will run in conjunction with the World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (WASME) 19th International Conference on Small and Medium Enterprises (ICSME) on the 18 -21 September 2013 at Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre. This conference is hosted by eThekwini Municipality in partnership with Osiba Management.

The theme of the Conference is “Beyond the downturn – revitalising the global economy through small and medium enterprises”. The Conference will feature panellists who will be dealing with various best practice topics – enterprise development and access to finance.

A limited number of exhibitors who complete their registration early for the Durban Business Fair will be subsidised to attend the Conference complimentary, this will be on the first come first serve basis. The Municipality encourages exhibitors to register early in order to be part of this ground-breaking conference, which will be staged in Durban for the first time.

The Municipality also wants to use the Durban Business Fair as a platform to showcase the City of Durban as Africa’s tourism and investment hub for the benefit of the local business sector.

Over the past 14 years of hosting the Business Fair, we have had a number of success stories and most recent names include:

1. Carver Media
2. Ikhayelihle Cleaning Services (Pty) Ltd
3. Megaphase Road Markings and Traffic Signs
4. Born and Bred
5. Themzak Cleaning Chemicals
6. Chemweb
7. Dumabezwe Ethnic Designs
8. Ubuciko Artlands
9. Siyaya Surveillance
10. Injiya Interiors
11. Creative Lead
12. Ilanga Elihle Catering
13. JVS Agencies
14. Kre-Native Concepts
15. Mzansi Mobile Units

These businesses have been able to portray innovation and achieve growth within their respective industries. These 15 Companies have a turn-over of more than R50 million – it is higher if we include other companies which are not part of the 15, and they have created more than 2000 sustainable jobs.

The Municipality encourages SMMEs, cooperatives, Government departments and entities, Non-Profit Organisations and other stakeholders to make use of this opportunity and register to participate in the upcoming Fair. The Fair has been enhanced with more functionality for exhibitors and sector specific interventions.

Registration is now open, and we are calling on businesses to register now as spaces are limited.

For the ease of registration exhibitors can register online on www.dbnbusinessfair.com and for regular updates join us on Facebook: Durban Business Fair and follow us on Twitter: @DBNBusinessFair.

For bookings businesses can contact:

Ikhono Communications on 031 266 9937 /8 or email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Ends

Issued by the Head of Business Support, Markets and Tourism Unit, Contact Philip Sithole on 031 311 4545 or 083 2888 793