LBF fortnight sees a bumper 90 registered events and welcomes nearly 2000 attendees
he seventh Leicester Business Festival has drawn to a close after a fantastic fortnight which has boasted some 90 outstanding events, hosted by organisations from all across the region.
Over 1880 people attended the LBF events, with 22 per cent being from outside the Leicester and Leicestershire region, including 22 international attendees, showing the far reaching impact that the Festival has.
There have been sessions across the county and online, which has allowed a wider audience to take advantage of the programme which aims to help businesses to grow and support the economy.
Mike Dalzell, Director of Tourism, Culture & Investment at Leicester City Council said “The 2021 LBF has been a true representation of the resilience and dedication of the local business community. It has been fantastic to see everyone utilise the free events to build knowledge and skills.
“A hybrid Festival has really enhanced the accessibility of the events, allowing people from outside the county, even the country, to join in with the activity”
An impressive 86 per cent of attendees said that the events they had been to had positively affected their businesses, and this number is only expected to grow as people put their new skills into action. There were around 700 businesses involved this year and roughly 30 per cent of those were large businesses, which is second to the large number of micro businesses involved, at 37 per cent.
Helen Donnellan, Director of Business Engagement at De Montfort University said “This year, the LBF really felt like a central point for the business community to get back together, whether that was online or in-person. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for 2022.”
LBF will return in 2022, and the dates will be announced in the coming weeks.
There will also be new members joining the Board of the LBF Community Interest Company (CiC), to help to drive the Festival to the next level.
Richard Osborn, Chair of the LBF CiC said “Thank you to everyone who has supported the LBF, without the support from the local community, the Festival would not be where it is. We are delighted to welcome new members to the board over the coming weeks, it’s really going to help bring fresh ideas for the future of the LBF.”
Anyone that is interested in getting involved in LBF 2022 should get in touch by emailing hello@leicesterbusinessfestival.com
LBF is headline partnered by De Montfort University. Other partners include East Midlands Chamber and Leicester City Council. Sponsors for 2021 are Bradgate Estates, Brewin Dolphin, Pattersons Commercial Law and the Federation of Small Business. Supporters are: Everards Brewery, Leicester Castle Business School, Highcross Leicester, Leicestershire Business Voice, Midlands Engine Investment Fund, BID Leicester, Ladey Adey Publications, Lionheart Educational Trust, Voluntary Action Leicester, The Consultus International Group, Freeths, Bentley, Lamborghini, Mattioli Woods, Home-Fresh and the Institute of Directors.
