Jackson, Miss. (April 7, 2010) – The 2010 Southeastern United States – Canadian Provinces (SEUS-CP) Alliance Conference, scheduled for April 11-13 at the Beau Rivage Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, Miss., will include a “Business-to-Business Matchmaking” event to encourage networking between companies throughout the southeastern United States and Canada. Targeted industry sectors for the business-to-business meetings of the conference, which has over 350 registered attendees, are advanced manufacturing, energy and geospatial technology.
Business-to-business appointments will take place on Monday, April 12 and Tuesday, April 13 and will be offered on site at the conference at no additional charge to registered attendees, providing conference delegates a cost-effective and convenient opportunity to meet with vetted companies from Canada and from southeastern U.S. states. These meetings allow firms to identify and realize new business contacts and to network with peer business leaders. Business-to-academia and government-to-government connections that promote commercial and economic exchanges will also be encouraged at the networking event.
“Nearly 100 businesses from each of the SEUS-CP Alliance member states and provinces will take advantage of this unique opportunity. The matchmaking program adds true value for business delegates and plays a vital role in this conference,” said Vickie Watters, senior international trade specialist at the Mississippi Development Authority. “The conference theme, ‘Shared Interests, Shared Opportunities,’ is the foundation on which this business matchmaking event was structured. We are expecting beneficial results for our participants and anticipate that new business relationships and alliances will be established as a result of these meetings.”
A designated matchmaker is assigned to work with the companies from each member state and member province’s delegation to identify business interests and ensure that all matchmaking appointments are qualified and mutually beneficial. Serving as “Anchor” companies for the matchmaking event will be leading entities from the three sectors of focus. Anchor companies include: Northrop Grumman, General Electric Aviation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, SmartSynch Inc., Howard Industries, Denbury Resources, the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems at Mississippi State University, the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology, the Mississippi Polymer Institute and the Mississippi Technology Alliance.
Whit Hughes, chief operating officer of the Mississippi Development Authority, said, “The business-to-business matchmaking meetings are at the heart of what the SEUS-CP Alliance is all about. The Alliance works to promote mutually-beneficial trade, investment and research and development partnerships between and among the member states and provinces, and these targeted networking meetings are one of the best ways to establish and grow these ties.”
The SEUS-CP annual conference promotes two-way business opportunities and encourages technological and scientific exchanges between and among the member states and provinces. SEUS-CP member states include Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Member provinces include Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Quebec.
For more information on the SEUS-CP Alliance, how to register for the organization’s 2010 conference or the business-to-business matchmaking event, please visit the SEUS-CP Web site at
www.seuscp.org.
About Mississippi Development Authority
Mississippi Development Authority is the State of Mississippi’s lead economic and community development agency. Nearly 300 employees are engaged in providing services to businesses, communities and workers in the state. While the agency is best known for its efforts to recruit new businesses to Mississippi, the Authority provides services to promote tourism, help communities improve their quality of place, help existing employers identify and meet opportunities and challenges and help workers improve their skills – all with the goal of improving the quality of life and economic well-being of Mississippians. For more information, visit MDA’s Web site at
www.mississippi.org.