The second year of the Inspire trade expo was a great success, once again proving that there is a growing need for this B2B platform. Inspire 2015 presented strong growth in both the quality of trade visitors and office sector category which has now become the "home" for the office industry in Africa. The range of trade visitors comprised of architects, interior decorators and designers, Hotels, B&Bs, business decision-makers from SMME's and corporate companies, dealers and procurement specialists.
Inspire 2015 indicated a steady increase in visitor stats with a growth of 25% on 2014. International representation from Austria, Botswana, France, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Poland, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Visitors and exhibitors alike were particularly impressed with INSPIRE'S new hall layout which created a good flow and vibe.
LEADIN ©- This program was an advanced and innovative way in which Inspire linked exhibitors with buyers by setting up valued networking opportunities. Having researched many methods and best practices from around the world we knew we had something quite different, which more importantly was highly beneficial to both parties. The responses and outcomes were great and we will certainly be expanding on this initiative.
INRETAIL ©- This was innovation in retail, like never before seen in Africa, with technologies hot off the press from around the world. This hi-tech store of the future showcased leading edge technologies already available for development right here in SA. This was highly applauded by those in the retail industry, who were amazed by the technology available locally. INRETAIL was a collaboration between Inspire, Trend Forward 101 Collective, Find the Gap & Human interactive technology.
INOPEN ©- the future of workspaces were successfully showcased giving visitors from around the country the opportunity to work in fully functioning environments during the duration of the expo at no extra charge. This was a collaboration between Inspire and OPEN collaborative work spaces. It was a great solution for exhibitors and visitors alike and was a constant hive of activity.
INOFFICE ©- This was a showcase of innovative designs and product. This initiative, for the first time created a platform for the office industry to converge at ONE expo and share the opportunity of increasing awareness of all that is readily available in SA. This will be a focus area going forward and was exceptionally well received.
This year Inspire Trade Expo decided to move away from the standard format of talks and workshops and rather focus on two hard hitting meaningful events that took place in dedicated auditoriums, but allowed full access into the Inspire Trade Expo.
REBOOT by Dave Nemeth © - Regarded by many as the definitive Trend Report for the future of business, retail and design. The event was completely sold out within two weeks of tickets going on sale and 50 additional seats had to be made available (making the event 250 strong this year). The response was outstanding and many of the reviews will be posted on the Inspire Trade Expo website and blog.
DESIGN THINKING CONFERENCE © - This conference which was the brainchild of Dave Nemeth, Design Partnership & Inspire Trade Expo, was presented in conjunction with the world leader on this topic - Fast Company. The conference aimed to show business leaders across all industries the importance of applying "design Thinking" in order to truly propel their businesses into the future. The conference featured leading disruptors in the industry and left the capacity audience silent throughout. The hosts were Ian Fraser and Astrid Ascar, prominent presenters and business entrepreneurs. The speaker lineup included Gareth Cliff, Robbie Brozin, Rick Treweek, Robbie Stammers, Callie van der Merwe, Dave Nemeth, Al Stratford, Brian Steinhobel, Thabang Skwambane and Pavlos Vassiliou. The response was beyond our widest expectation with attendees saying it was a riveting conference and the best they had attended in years. The local success stories and innovative thinking will continue into next year and possibly over two days.
Many exhibitors at the Expo, said the leads that were generated were invaluable, due primarily to the fact that Inspire is a 100% B2B expo which is a first time concept in Africa. Buyers had to meet extremely high criteria ensuring they would be beneficial to the exhibitors (no public were allowed entry into the expo). Managing Director of Entrawood Wessel van Wyk reported outstanding success at the expo: "We are exceptionally satisfied with the feedback regarding our exhibit at INSPIRE, especially concerning the high quality of companies who attended the expo.
Overall feedback from visitors has been positive and we will be adding some dynamic changes to this ever-evolving trade expo in 2016. "We will continue with the high quality designs and exhibitors and have some really exciting initiatives up our sleeve" says CEO Rina Fortmann.
