Goa Biz Fest, that annual tradeshow of the Business Networking International (BNI) is getting bigger and bigger. The third edition of the fest that wound up on February 10 was held over a three day period and on a grand scale at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Stadium,Bambolim. It was jointly organised by the Goa Entrepreneurs Mentoring Services (GEMS) Trust and supported by the state government. Local BNI members put in a robust participation to make the fest a major event.
Over 100 trade stalls displayed innovative brands ranging from lifestyle, automobiles, technology, construction, interiors, home décor, jewellery, etc., and attracted lot of footfalls. But trade stalls was only a part of things. The fest this year was different in the sense that it focused on four verticals namely, business expo, knowledge summit, career cum job fair and a startup conclave. It had industry leaders from India Inc. participating in the sessions. Outside speakers included Ajay Chowdhary, co-founder, HCL, Ajay Thakur, president, BSE, SME, Shub Vilas Das, aiuthor and motivational speaker, ISCKON.
Rohan Khaunte, IT and labour minister, inaugurated the three-day festival in the presence of Dr Pramod Sawant, speaker of the legislative assembly. The Chief Minister was present on Day 2 for a session on Goa Vision 2022.
Industrialists Narayan Bandekar, chairman of the NRB Group and Anil Counto, chairman, Alcon Group received lifetime achievement awards instituted by the Goa BizFest. Speaking on his award, Bandekar said, “I hope it encourages young entrepreneurs to work hard and succeed.” Nilesh Cabral, chairman, GTDC received a special award for boosting tourism business in the state.
The GEMS young entrepreneur awards was presented to six entrepreneurs- Prajyot Mainkar, Suprajit P Raiker. Pratibha Sawant Farheen Sayed and Ashutosh Kharangate. A special recognition award was presented to Avelino De Sa, president, DRAG, Financial services.