Australia’s largest small business festival kicked off in Warrnambool today, with the month-long Great South Coast Small Business Festival offering the region’s small business operators a range of free and low-cost events.
Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade Philip Dalidakis launched the Great South Coast festival, which is now in its fifth year, as part of the state-wide Small Business Festival Victoria that is running throughout August.
One of the feature events for Great South Coast small business owners this year will be a motivational talk by Emma Welsh and Tom Griffith at the BizFest conference in Warrnambool on 8 August 2016.
The high profile founders of Emma and Tom’s whole fruit juices started out as childhood friends before growing to be two of Australia’s most successful entrepreneurs since first starting their small business over a decade ago.
The event is one of 28 free and low-cost events taking place throughout Warrnambool, Portland, Port Fairy, Hamilton and surrounding areas in this year’s program.
Victoria has cemented its role as the small business state, leading the country in small business growth at a rate nearly double the national average. Last year almost 9,000 new small businesses were set up in Victoria.
Victoria is home to over 541,000 small businesses and nearly a third of them are based in regional and rural areas.
Now in its 11th year, the Small Business Festival Victoria is an annual highlight on the small business calendar and an important platform for supporting and driving business performance in Victoria.
The 2016 program is the biggest yet and features more than 450 events across a range of topics including business development, online business and marketing, social media, business management and hiring staff.
For more information on 2016 Small Business Festival Victoria events, visit .
Quotes attributable to Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade, Philip Dalidakis
“It’s fantastic that the Great South Coast Small Business Festival is celebrating its fifth year as part of the biggest small business festival in the country.”
”This festival provides Victorian businesses with access to the latest ideas, designs and technological developments to keep them competitive, growing and sustainable – and this year the program has a huge regional focus with half the program to be run throughout our eight regional festivals.”
Quotes attributable to Member for Western Victoria, Gayle Tierney
“More than a quarter of Victoria’s small businesses are in regional and rural Victoria, with many local economies depending on their success in providing local jobs and growth in the regions.”
“This festival is a great opportunity for business owners and new entrepreneurs from around the Great South Coast to upskill and ensure they have the foundations in place to keep their businesses growing strong.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020