Organisers of VIPO extremely proud of event turnout

Organizers of the Vincy Innovators Expo (VIPO) have deemed the event a success.VIPO, which took place on April 27 and 28 at the Diamond Industrial Estate,{{more}} was designed to give local businesses the opportunity to showcase their products to the Vincentian community.

At a press conference on Tuesday, communications officer of Invest SVG Brenelia Kirby thanked the exhibitors, patrons and sponsors who came on board to make the event a success.

“We are extremely proud to be hosts of such an event,” said Kirby.

Acting executive director of Invest SVG Allan Alexander noted that not only were they impressed by participants and the hard work that they put in, but also the turnout, given the location.

“We at Invest SVG, we are very much thinking that this could not be a one-off event, given the response that we have gotten from the public,” Alexander said.

Kirby added to what her colleague mentioned and said that she believed that a venue in Kingstown would not have been able to accommodate such a large turnout.

“Even though it was in Diamond, the turnout was more than we anticipated,” she said. “We made one of the best decisions to move it to Diamond, because if it was in Kingstown, I don’t think the venue would have been able to hold the amount of persons that were milling around”.

With regard to the participants, Kirby stated that the exposition was a rehearsal of sorts in the event that someone from St Vincent and the Grenadines takes part in a similar exposition abroad.

“It was preparation for the exhibitors…patrons would come and ask a set of questions and they need to know how to answer these questions,” she said. “If I ask you what goes into making your product, you need to be able to give me a professional answer”.

Additionally, Kirby noted that one of the highlights for the exhibitors was that they were allowed to sell at the expo.

“One of them said to me ‘Hear na. All yo should have this here every month. I making real money,” she declared.

Alexander mentioned that it is the hope of Invest SVG to work closely with exhibitors and funding agencies and other persons abroad to promote the products.

A raffle was held on both days of the exposition, where patrons were given the opportunity to win various prizes.

The winners of these raffles were presented with their prizes at the press conference.

On Saturday, the winners were Ivy Alexander, Racquel Holder, Rachael May and Inford Thomas. Simply for attending the exhibition, Alexander won herself a pedicure, compliments Precision Contours, while Holder won a blender, compliments COURTS St Vincent Ltd. May won a Swedish massage by Bamboo Spa Resort and Thomas also received a manicure by Precision Contours.

Sunday’s winners consisted of Ronie Duro, Anna Sandy, Kathlyn Parsons and Raeon ‘Maddzart’ Primus. Duro received a Happy Feet Pedicure by Bamboo Spa Resort and Sandy won a pressure cooker, compliments of COURTS St Vincent Ltd. Parsons won a Swedish massage by Shades of Beauty Spa, while Primus walked away with the highly coveted prize of a Blackberry Play Book, compliments of Digicel.

Kirby stated that the expo was a benefit of registering with Invest SVG and urged others to do so, as they will be privy to early information like VIPO.

To register with Invest SVG, persons can email them at info@investsvg.com or call; 4572159 and inquire about registration.