Promoting the ‘Buy Cayman’ cause has always been at the heart of the Chamber of Commerce Business Expo, this year held from 21 – 23 October at the Family Life Centre, just off Walker’s Road.

In the late 1980s, the Chamber Council established a Buy Caymanian Committee to develop strategies to encourage consumers to purchase locally. Membership surveys determined that consumers were concerned mostly with prices, variety and quality of service. It also revealed that many residents were unaware of the selection of products and services that were available locally since many of these businesses were n different locations around the Islands.

Mitzi Callan was the first chairwoman of the Buy Caymanian Committee, which also included William Peguero, David Guilfoyle, Ken Pooley, Ed Pallo, Harvey Stevenson and William McTaggart Jr. The group was determined that the best approach would be to develop a Buy Caymanian campaign to educate the community about the benefits of purchasing locally and to create an event where small businesses could showcase their products and services to the local community. They wanted to encourage people, friends, neighbours, to check out what was on offer in Cayman, and they realised it made sense to gather businesses together, in the same place, to capture the community’s attention all at once.

The first Business Fair was held in 1992 at the Lions Centre. Wooden booth stalls were erected and 30 businesses participated. The event was designed to attract families and several activities were organised to allow as many small businesses as possible to showcase their products. Small business training seminars were also planned as part of the event. In 1995, the name of the event was changed to the Business Expo and there was greater emphasis placed on creating a business environment for selling products and services at the event rather than creating a “fair” atmosphere.

Joanne Diaz-Berry, Programmes and Events manager with the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Centre says the Business Expo connects people and allows both businesses and consumers to establish a relationship. “During these challenging economic times, it is much more important for each of us to learn more about what local businesses offer consumers right here at home,” she says.

The Chamber of Commerce Business Expo attracts over 3,000 people over the weekend in which it is held. Diaz-Berry says it has and continues to be the largest business event of its kind on the island.

“For businesses to make a connection with that number of people in such a short period time, it is the ultimate marketing opportunity for their organisation. The Expo allows the exhibitors to expand their customer base - think of the opportunity to have a captive audience of thousands of potential customers from major industries, government, subcontractors and other businesses,” she confirms.

According to Diaz-Berry, many entrepreneurs have used the Expo to launch their businesses and some of them have now become very successful, such as Icoa Fine Foods, Digicel, Paradise Coffee, Audiophile and the Hypoxi Studio.

She confirms that the Business Expo is always well-attended by the public as a whole. “The Chamber of Commerce has been a champion of businesses in the Cayman Islands. This annual event provides everyone in the community a chance to learn about the latest and greatest that is available right at home. The Expo draws between 2,000 and 4,000 visitors and approximately 40 exhibitors each year which is a good indication of the support received from the public and its members,” she confirms.