Leicester Business Festival 2024 officially launches

The Leicester Business Festival (LBF) 2024 officially kicked off on Monday, November 4, celebrating its 10 year milestone and the region's creative and collaborative business community. 

The opening event was held at the brand new Blackbird Industrial Park, situated on the site of a former housing depot on Blackbird Road. This state-of-the-art development features four buildings that offer over 30,000 square feet of light industrial workspace across 21 units, designed for local start-ups and growing businesses.

With a strong emphasis on sustainability, all the buildings include low carbon, energy-efficient features such as roof-mounted solar panels, excellent insulation, and smart lighting, along with electric vehicle charging stations and secure bicycle storage. The units will be available for lease starting in winter 2024, ranging in size from 750 to 2,500 square feet.

The festival’s opening highlighted Leicester’s recognition as the fifth most creative city in the UK. Leicester City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby underscored the importance of the festival and shared exciting upcoming initiatives, including a creative industry strategy launching on November 15 during the festival and exposed ambitious redevelopment plans for the city centre, such as a £22 million upgrade of the railway station and enhancements to the Leicester Waterside area.

Rajiv Popat, ITV news reporter, hosted the event, bringing together local businesses, entrepreneurs and industry leaders to showcase innovation, creativity and share insights. During the event, Rajiv interviewed Milan Gosai from Paani Bottles, a Leicester-based company that produces handcrafted copper water bottles. Launched during the COVID-19 pandemic, Paani Bottles combines traditional Ayurvedic practices with modern health benefits, such as improved digestion and antibacterial properties. Each bottle is made from over 99% pure copper, supports local artisans, and helps reduce plastic waste, appealing to customers who value authentic and sustainable products.

Tom Willday, founder of Willsow, also took to the stage to share his inspiring journey of creating the world’s first plantable books, which encourage children to engage with nature and can grow into flowers or vegetables when planted. Willsow burst onto the business scene in 2021 after winning a Leicestershire Live Innovation Award and then appearing on Dragon's Den where they managed to secure backing from Sara Davies. 

Since this time, Willsow has gone from strength to strength including expanding into the international market. The company has introduced a whole range of eco-friendly products, including greeting cards and calendars, and formed partnerships with organisations like the Royal Horticultural Society including launching their latest product, the RHS 'sustainable' Christmas crackers, this year. 

Jennifer Thomas of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSBs), who has been involved since the festival's inception and is now on the board of the LBF Community Interest Company, said:

"It was a brilliant celebratory start to the 10th annual LBF - and great to have the opportunity to experience messages of support from some familiar faces from business festival years gone past.

“The LBF is truly our 'Glastonbury for business' with over 70 diverse events designed to empower the business community and highlight our resilience.

"I encourage everyone to explore the numerous free opportunities available over the next two weeks, whether attending in person or engaging in conversations on social media. Our aim is for the festival to create invaluable connections and insights for all attendees while showcasing the remarkable business pride and creativity of our region.

"Thank you to everyone involved, our festival sponsors and all participating businesses for making this festival possible.” 

Everyone interested in learning and connecting is invited to explore and book on to one of the 70 FREE business events happening over the next two weeks (4-15 November) at various locations across Leicester and Leicestershire at: https://lbf.ticketleap.com/