From Khaleej Times | The “Expo Business Matching” project will automatically link and arrange business meetings between Italian and foreign companies during Expo 2015
The Chamber of Commerce in Milan, together with its ad-hoc company for international activities, Promos, has been putting a lot of effort into expo 2015 ever since the day Milan was awarded the Universal exhibition organisation. The Milan Chamber of Commerce and Promos, promoters and key players in the project starting from the bid book drafting, immediately became counterparts in the debate about the Universal exhibition, playing a key role in connecting management companies, local government and businesses in the region.
To date, this commitment has followed two specific directions — on one side, it is paving the way for actual business opportunities, thanks to expo 2015; on the other, increasing the region’s attractiveness throughout the six months of expo 2015, with an outlook including the rest of Italy, and making available for this purpose all the tools created so far. The research study, L’indotto economico di Expo 2015 (The business value associated with expo 2015), promoted in partnership with Società expo, estimated that the additional production by the Italian economy during the period 2012-2020 will amount to more than €23.6 billion, which means an added value increase of €10 billion. This additional estimated production, during the time span under consideration, means that an additional 190,000 workplaces will be created.
More specifically, the Milan Chamber of Commerce and Promos has organised some concrete projects with a view to making expo 2015 an even more unique and attractive opportunity for companies. It has supported the promotion of a List of Participants for expo 2015 throughout the country, a virtual marketplace consisting of an online platform, whose aim is to establish contact between participating countries and Italian businesses for the potential supply of goods and services. This is a useful tool to help countries that are taking part in the Universal exhibition to design, build, set up and manage their hall, and to create business opportunities for companies. Together with the Municipality of Milan, Promos also designed the project “expo in Città”, whose aim is to coordinate and manage the events scheduled in Milan between May and October this year. The project will allow visitors, tourists and residents to browse through the listing of performances, cultural, trade and tourist events taking place during the expo months. Moreover, in partnership with PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) and Fiera Milano, Promos has designed expo Business Matching, a project which — for the first time in the history of Universal exhibitions — makes it possible for operators and companies from foreign countries participating in the event to engage in networking activities, using innovative matchmaking instruments as leverage, combined with highly qualified business activities. This project revolves around the creation of a technological platform “expo Business Matching”, which allows customised time plans to arrange business meetings between Italian and foreign companies during the six months of expo 2015.
Apart from this platform, Promos is making qualified services available to welcome business delegations and international buyers during the event. This project also targets businesses from the UAE that intend to proactively take part in expo 2015, availing themselves of ensuing opportunities. Promos has an office in Dubai, managed for almost 10 years by Cesare Maraglio, to provide all the necessary support and assistance.