Mayor has today announced that
the West Midlands Business Festival is to return in 2026
following the huge success of its inaugural event earlier this
year.
Between 2 and 13 February next year, thousands of small and
medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and the wider business community
will get another opportunity to come together for a fortnight of
inspiration, innovation, learning, showcasing, and networking.
This year's festival – the first to be organised for the Mayor by
Business Growth West Midlands (BGWM) – smashed all expectations
with 1,500 businesses getting involved and 4,000 tickets booked
for the impressive line-up of 100 events.
Plans for the 2026 festival have been unveiled just a week after
the Mayor launched the West Midlands Growth Plan to fire up the
region's economy by backing businesses to grow and help create
thousands of new jobs.
The Mayor said: “SMEs are the foundations of our economy and this
festival is about bringing them together to learn, collaborate,
and celebrate the successes that will get our economy firing on
all cylinders.
“The response to this year's event was phenomenal so we're
bringing it back in 2026 – bigger, bolder, and even better.
“This is a region that backs ambition, drives innovation, and
provides opportunities to put success within everyone's reach,
whatever their background.
“We're investing £15 million this year in grants and expert
support to help businesses grow, and that is on top of the £10
million we spent backing 10,000 firms last year. My Growth Plan
takes this even further and will make the West Midlands the most
dynamic place in the UK to start and scale a business.”
Thousands of businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs who attended
events at the inaugural festival back in March helped make it the
biggest and most influential event of its kind ever to be held in
the region.
Those attending highlighted the value of the networking
opportunities offered by the event while two thirds said they
would implement changes in their businesses thanks to the
knowledge they picked up.
From today, businesses can apply to host an event as part of the
next year's West Midlands Business Festival. This can involve
incorporating their existing business activities into the
festival's schedule or creating new events.
They can cover any business-related topic, ranging from seminars
and insight events to product launches. All events are encouraged
to be free to attend to remove barriers for participants,
including those early in their careers or in education.
Business Growth West Midlands is run by West Midlands Combined
Authority (WMCA) and delivered in partnership by local
councils.
Register an interest in taking part in the 2026 West Midlands
Business Festival at www.wmbf.co.uk.
