Poole Maritime Festival to boost local businesses

The eight events planned at this year’s Maritime Festival will cover a range of networking opportunities, workshops, conferences, exhibitions and discussions to assist business growth by accessing information on import and export opportunities and funding.

The programme kicks off on 4 June with Borough of Poole’s STEM challenge. Around 100 students from nine schools across Dorset will take part in a challenge set by Young Enterprise to solve a maritime-related dilemma. Supported by local business leaders and academics from the marine sector, the contest encourages the next generation to take an active interest in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Dorset Chamber of Commerce and Industry is hosting a Breakfast Network on 5 June at Rick Stein in Sandbanks. The event starts at 8am and there will be an engaging speaker throughout the event to ignite discussion.

Also on 5 June there is an opportunity to join Dynamic Women in Business at their breakfast event held at Parkstone Yacht Club. The event starts at 8.30am and speakers include the leader of Borough of Poole, Cllr Janet Walton, and the chief operating officer of Actisense, Lesley Keets.

Finishing off the day’s events on 5 June, Dorset Growth Hub is hosting a Marine Business Bootcamp at Lake Yard from 2pm, designed to bring together businesses, stakeholders, skills and funding opportunities.

On 6 June there is an opportunity to join Poole Harbour Study Group at their conference at Poole Harbour Commissioners at the Port. Titled ‘A Spotlight on Poole Harbour: Environment and Economics’, the conference will focus on Poole Harbour’s relationship between the environment, business and the economy.

The day concludes on 6 June with an invitation-only reception hosted by Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). This is a networking opportunity for business leaders, featuring the Dorset Ambassadors and the South West Marine Cluster.

Borough of Poole and British Marine’s Trade XChange is taking place on 7 June at Lighthouse, Poole. The conference and exhibition will engage around 60 local, regional and national businesses with a conference built around encouraging business trade through import/export within marine industries.

The Poole Maritime Festival business programme closes with an invitation-only boat reception to celebrate the local and global businesses attending the programme. In partnership with British Marine and City Cruises, the event on 7 June will have a talk from Jim Stewart (chief executive of PHC and chairman of Dorset LEP) and a tour of the harbour.

Cllr Mohan Iyengar, Cabinet Member for Poole Maritime Festival, Borough of Poole, said: “Last year’s event was one of the largest maritime events in Europe. This year we don’t have the EU funding, yet the business programme is even better. It’s about bringing local businesses together and being ready for the opportunities and challenges coming up. And for Poole as a whole, it’s about strengthening our reputation as a marine hub with a long standing heritage and a great future ahead.”