Here’s our chance to market our businesses abroad after Olympics

The Olympics may have come to an end but the potential for business success around the Games is far from complete.

In Coventry and Warwickshire we saw more London 2012-related contracts won than any other region outside of the South East of England.

Unfortunately, due to strict confidentiality clauses put in place by the Olympic Games organisers, many local firms have not been able to shout about their successes publicly.

I hope now that the Games have ended we will hear more about the successes of businesses in Leamington and further afield in Warwickshire and Coventry as the restriction imposed upon them loosen.

The London 2012 Games was a fantastic opportunity to showcase our expertise in a wide range of sectors to the world and to any potential investors.

With so many companies in the region having been successfully involved in delivering contracts for the Olympic Games I fully expect many of those businesses to aim to be involved with future major international sporting events.

The importance of exporting in the current climate should not be underestimated.

And so the obvious target market for many of our companies, particularly those associated with the success of London 2012, should be Brazil, and particularly Rio de Janeiro which will host the football World Cup and the Olympic Games during the next four years.

Selling services abroad may seem daunting, but the rewards can be great.

The Chamber is able to offer support and advice around the challenges of exporting - from translation to transport – and our advisors would love to hear from you if you are in need of some guidance.

Closer to home we will have contracts relating to the regeneration of the Olympic Park up for grabs and I am sure businesses in our region will seize these opportunities as eagerly as they did for the pre-Games contracts.

Finally, I would just like to urge all businesses to make sure they book onto the Chamber’s annual conference on September 21.

Speakers include the likes of the inspirational business figure Lord Digby Jones, Professor David Bailey and, as I write, a government minister.

For more information on the conference, contact the Chamber on 024 7665 4321.