Kerala Business to Business Meet 2005

The first Kerala Business to Business Meet was conducted at Kochi during 2004. The Meet was greatly appreciated by the manufacturing community of the State and there have been suggestions to conduct the Meet on an annual basis. B2B 2004 succeeded in creating a platform for the industrialists in our State to have in-depth interaction and one to one meetings with the Business Houses / Buyers / Trade Associates / Trade Representatives of Foreign embassies from all over the Country and Abroad.  By the time the Meet concluded, many of the Sellers were able to bag orders from National and International Buyers; many more had promising trade enquiries.

In order to provide yet another opportunity for the manufacturers of Kerala to access global markets as well as to carry forward the momentum of opportunities generated by B2B 2004, Government of Kerala organised the ‘Kerala Business to Business Meet 2005’ from September   6-8, 2005 at Galfar International Convention Centre, Hotel Le Meridien, Kochi.

The Kerala Business to Business Meet 2005 was a part of Government of Kerala’s effort to promote the State’s Small & Medium Enterprises in the global markets and help the manufacturing sector to access larger markets for their products.  There is no disputing fact that the Small & Medium Enterprises in the State has contributed in large measure towards the economic development and growth of the State. 

Dignitaries for B2B 2005

But to survive in the changed competitive economic order, the SME sector has to continually evolve through adoption of better technologies, reducing costs and improving quality in order to tap new markets globally for their sustainable growth. This is especially relevant for the traditional sector within the State and other sectors where the State has inherent advantages in terms of potential for rapid growth. Hence the need for an urgent growth to explore new markets, increased access to existing one and emerging opportunities to ensure a rapid growth in employment generation has become essential. 

Dignitaries for B2B 05

The objective of the Kerala Business to Business Meet 2005 was to provide an opportunity to the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the State to access global markets for their products. The Meet provided a platform for the industrial enterprises to have in-depth interactions and one to one meetings with buyers, industrialists and trade associations from India and Abroad, thereby giving them an insight to international markets and the buyers’ requirements. The Meet also helped the State’s manufacturing sector to conceive in implementing international quality standards to access international markets. The event also emphasized the change in perception of Kerala from a consumerist society to a manufacturing State.

Inaugural Function

The Department of Industries, Government of Kerala in its role as a facilitator to the SME sector had organised this Meet in association with Kerala Bureau of Industrial Promotion (K-BIP), Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC), Kerala State Industrial Infrastructural Development Corporation (KINFRA), Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and Kerala State Small Industry Association (KSSIA).

Inaugural Function

The B2B 2005 focused on the Small & Medium Enterprises and showcased eight key sectors which had strong manufacturing base and quality products both in the branded and unbranded sectors.  The sectors focused for the Meet was Coir / Handicrafts including Khadi & Village Industries Products / Handlooms, Textiles & Garments / Processed Food & Spices / Construction Materials, Wood & Interior Decorations / Herbal, Ayurveda, Pharmaceuticals / Rubber & Rubber Products / Printing & Packaging. 

Inauguration

The sectors had been identified between the traditional and modern which had critical mass in manufacturing capacity and based on their products which could be presented to a global Buying Community.  The traditional sectors of the State’s economy – Coir, Cashew, Spices, Ayurveda, Khadi Products, Handlooms and Handicrafts – plays a significant role in terms of employment generation as well as income generation.

The B2B 2005 was also able to create a proper marketing avenue for the traditional SME sector as well as the other sectors for an interaction with the renowned names at the National and Global level, face to face, so that they were able to develop a sustainable business relationship. This also avoided the intermediaries between the manufacturers and the Buyers whereby reducing the effective cost of the product. The modern sectors like Processed Food, Rubber, Construction Materials, Interior Decorations, Garments etc. were also able to showcase their products through this Meet.

Registration of Delegates

The Department of Industries and other related organisations along with the entrusted Event Management Agency had worked in tandem which made the event a grand success. The efforts put in by the team of organizers succeeded very well which is evident from the various media reports and the participation from both the Buyer as well as the Seller side.

Registration of Delegates

The registrations of the Manufacturing Units (Sellers) from the State received excellent response.  The registrations were done through the respective District Industries Centre or directly.  There were registrations from all the 14 districts of the State.  The maximum number of registrations received was from Ernakulam (67 Nos.) followed by Thiruvananthapuram (40 Nos.) and Thrissur (32 Nos.).  The maximum registration in the sector was for Construction & Interior Decoration  (55 Nos.) followed by Processed Food & Spices (51 Nos.), Handlooms, Textiles & Garments             (50 Nos.) and Ayurveda / Herbal / Pharmaceutical (44 Nos.).

As per the various suggestions received through the interactions after the B2B 2004, the Sellers had requested for individual cubicles for every registered participants.  This was to enable them to display their products and technologies and also to interact individually to the visiting Buyer. B2B 2004 provided only single table space for one day for the Sellers whereas B2B 2005, considering the above suggestions, accommodated the registered Sellers in separate individual Air Conditioned constructed 2mX2M stalls. The total stalls that could be accommodated in the available space including a separate Air Conditioned dome was 291Nos. and the entire stalls were registered by the participants from the eight selected sectors throughout the State.

B2B 05 Stalls

Similarly, we had received response from 531 Nos. of Buyers, out of which 406 Nos. had participated in the Meet. This included 227 Nos. from outside Kerala State, 72 Nos. International Buyers, 10 Nos. from Foreign Embassy Trade Representatives and 97 Nos. Buyers from Kerala. The foreign delegates were from Bahrain, Belgium, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Netherlands, Sudan, Singapore, Sharjah, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, UAE, UK and Qatar.  Foreign Embassy Trade Representatives were from Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, USA, Indonesia, Belgium and Singapore.

The major companies participated in B2B 2005 included AMP Mercantile, Adani Group, Alinz Buying House, Deemart Merchandising, EMKE Group, Hindalco, Nexus, Sahara India, Star Asia, Toyota Tsusho, Videocon International etc.

The officials from the Director General of Supplies & Disposal, Indian Railways, Coconut Development Board, Coffee Board, Spices Board, Rubber Board, Major Financial Institutions etc. also participated for the Meet.  The DGS&D and Railways had also conducted a technical session for interaction between the Buyers & Sellers.  

Inaugural Address by Hon’ble Chief Minister

Shri. Oommen Chandy, Hon’ble Chief Minister in his inaugural address mentioned about the economic growth achieved by the State by facilitating such promotional activities. He also mentioned that Government will be providing all support for the development of the industrial sector especially the traditional industries. He assured that this type of efforts will be made a regular affair thereby a constant effort can be put in for the industrial development of the State.

Address by Chief Guest - Inauguration

Shri. Subodh Kant Sahai, Hon’ble Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, Government of India mentioned about the immense potential available in the Food Processing sector.  He also assured that the State will be given adequate priority for its projects and all necessary assistance will be extended by the Ministry.

Presidential Address by Hon’ble Minister (Ind & SW)

Shri. V.K. Ebrahim Kunju, Hon’ble Minister for Industries & Social Welfare in his presidential address mentioned about the various promotional roles the Department has undertaken for the development of the industries in Kerala. He also thanked all concerned for the cooperation extended in conducting the Meet and assured that the momentum will be carried forward in the years to come.

Release of Seller Data Bank & Sectorial CD

As part of the event, a Seller Data Bank and CD ROM was brought out giving the details about the participating registered Kerala Sellers.  Also a CD ROM was brought out on the detailed information about the eight key sectors being focused in the Meet.  The Seller Data Bank and the CD ROM sector profile was formally brought out by Shri. Subodh Kant Sahai, Hon’ble Minster (FPI) and Shri. Dominic Presentation, Hon’ble Minister (Fisheries & Sports) respectively. 

Shri. T. Balakrishnan IAS, Principal Secretary (Industries & Commerce) formally delivered the welcome address and Shri. T.O. Sooraj IAS, Director (Industries & Commerce) proposed the vote of thanks.  Shri. Xavier Thomas Kondody, State President, KSSIA, Shri. C.P. Jain, President, Kerala Chamber of Commerce & Industry and Shri. M.K. Koshy, Chairman, CII – Kerala Region felicitated during the function.  The inaugural function commenced with a colourful Cultural Show.

The business interactions during the next two days of the Meet were found extremely successful. As per the data collected by the officials of the District Industries Centres, it was found that 6,916 trade enquiries were received during the two days, of which 107 were converted into firm orders.

Press Briefing on B2B 05

Shri. V.K. Ebrahim Kunju, Hon’ble Minister (Industries & SW), Shri. T. Balakrishnan, Principal Secretary (Industries & Commerce), Shri. P.H. Kurian, Secretary (IT) & MD, KSIDC, Shri. T.O. Sooraj, Director (Industries & Commerce), Shri. A.S. Suresh Babu, MD, KINFRA, Shri. V. Rajagopal, General Manager, K-BIP and Shri. Xavier Thomas Kondody, State President, KSSIA addressed the press on the final day.

Valedictory Function

The valedictory function was presided over by Shri. T. Balakrishnan, Principal Secretary (Industries & Commerce) in which Shri. V.K. Ebrahim Kunju, Hon’ble Minister (Industries & SW) was the Chief Guest.

Valedictory Function

The three day Business to Business Meet 2005 focusing the eight key sectors in the Small & Medium Enterprises of Kerala State was able to showcase our State as a strong manufacturing State irrespective of the perception that it is a consumer State. As decided and announced during the Meet, B2B 2006 will be conducted during October, 2006.