Economic conference will address issues faced by businesses in Coventry and Warwickshire

Local businesses are gearing up for the biggest economic conference in the region’s calendar as the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce’s headline annual event returns in November.

Now in its seventh year, the Chamber’s Annual Business and Economic Conference, scheduled to take place at the IXL Events Centre in Southam on 14 November, will feature a range of speakers and panellists.

The event includes a panel discussion on the future of the region with MPs from the city and the county.

It will also feature an economic update from Liz Martin, the senior UK economist at HSBC, who will then join a panel of business leaders to discuss driving growth in Coventry and Warwickshire.

Corin Crane, chief executive of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, told TheBusinessDesk.com: “Chambers of Commerce can be quite responsive to national issues, where we’ll talk all the time about an agenda set at a national level – for example around unemployment rates going up and down or new government policies – but we don’t always talk about what it means to be a business in Coventry and Warwickshire and what our local issues are.

“So the conference is very much that. It’s a chance for us to talk to our business community, to tackle the issues that are genuinely important at a local level, and also to spot the issues we want to campaign about at a national level that are important to Coventry and Warwickshire businesses.”

Crane said that ahead of the budget, the number one issue facing businesses at the moment was the cost of doing business, whether due to national insurance increases, wage increases, and so on. In response to this, the conference will feature stalls where businesses can gain access to business planning workshops, support with starting international trade, and free business support from partners including local authorities and the West Midlands Combined Authority.

The conference will also hear the latest on key regeneration and developments in town and city centres.

The keynote speech will be delivered by Kieran Joseph, founder & chief executive of Guardian Ballers CIC, which works to empower young people through basketball activities.

Moreover, the event will include a final address from Chamber president Steve Harcourt as he signs off his two-year stint in the role. Further speakers will be announced closer to the event.

Alongside the speakers and panels, it is the biggest networking opportunity in Coventry and Warwickshire with hundreds of business and civic leaders all in attendance.

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