With less than a week to go, one of the UK’s leading business organisations OMPEG (Overseas Maharashtrian Professionals and Entrepreneurs Group) will host the second edition of its Annual community business expo- OMPEX 19 on 23 November 2019, From 11am to 4pm, at the sprawling campus of Jewish Free School at Kenton in London.
With the key objective to promote local entrepreneurship, this year there will be free entry to all visitors inform the organisers. With an ambitious theme and target of over 1500 visitors, OMPEX 19 promises to be “Bigger, Better, Bolder” this year.
Visitors will experience more than 50 stalls from a wide variety of industries such as FinTech, Technology, Fashion & Beauty, Home Security, Design & Décor, Property finance, Real estate, Entertainment, Education, Travel among others.
A special food festival featuring local food businesses – from mouth-watering Indian fast and street food to nutritious, healthy energy treats will attract all types of visitors, assure the organisers.
According to Ani Kaprekar, co-founder of OMPEG and a member of the core group, “OMPEX19 is a great opportunity for Maharashtrian and other local businesses to showcase their business ventures. It’s a great platform to promote local entrepreneurship. This is a community business expo organised entirely through voluntary effort and the business response has been extremely encouraging.”
“We are looking forward to attract a huge crowd creating new opportunities and valuable connections or local businesses,” he said.
It is reported that last year there were 30 stalls with 500+ visitors. The event was inaugurated by Mr. Rahul Nangare, First Secretary Trade, of the High Commission of India.
OMPEG was established as a platform for nurturing the spirit of entrepreneurship within the UK based Maharashtrian community. Today , the organisation boasts of being the 1st and the only business network of UK Maharashtrians with a 150+ Fee Paying members (entrepreneurs and professionals).
Shaheena Shaikh, Falcon Fashions who had joined OMPEG just a week before OMPEX18, shared her experience where her brand was inaugurated at the Ompex 18 exhibition. “Our new collection SS2019 was also introduced at the event. Hundreds of people visited the exhibition and our brand received an enormous response from them. We had an amazing experience talking to them about the identity of our brand. The audience also had many questions ranging from “Where do you get your inspiration from?” to “What makes your garment sustainable?”, allowing for some healthy interaction. This helped us understand that customers are looking for more than just ‘clothes’. we made many useful connections and left allowing for some healthy interaction,” she said.
Significantly the organisation has 30% as its women members and in just a span of three years has 20+ new businesses launched. The current Core group of OMPEG includes Jay Tahasildar, Ani Kaprekar, Ravi Gadgil, Reshma Deshpande, Sushil Rapatwar, and Rajan Shegunshi.
Renuka Phadke of V R Mortgages Ltd. said “participating in OMPEG’s expo was the right decision for my company. In a very relaxed & yet professional environment engaging with clients was fruitful. I was absolutely overwhelmed with the response which my company had. OMPEG’s business expo is a proven way to grow business profile and meet new clients face to face. The client base which I am looking for is here. Hence I booked my stall for this year as well.”
Mayura Chandekar of MCAPS Global Ltd. felt it was a pleasure to meet many successful entrepreneurs and professionals in OMPEX18. ” A big thanks to OMPEG and the core team for organising such a wonderful event so systematically and meticulously. It was my first successful first exhibition so booked a stall this year too,” said concluded.
FACEBOOK event link to set a reminder:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1164182363791887/
Rahul Laud
Rahul Laud wears many hats. He is a senior journalist, and works as the Associate Editor of Asian Lite, based out of Manchester, UK. He is the Curator and Facilitator of SAJDA Festival and is a regular volunteer for the Art of Living and the IAHV global charities. He is a musician himself and teaches the tabla to the younger generation of music enthusiasts.
