Business Gateshead Expo 2026
About this Event
The Business Gateshead Expo is more than just a networking event – it's an opportunity to make the right connections, gain tailored support, and unlock new opportunities for your business.
Designed with personal engagement at its heart, the Expo brings together ambitious businesses, industry experts, support organisations, and decision-makers for a day focused on meaningful conversations and practical outcomes. Through opt-in targeted matchmaking, you'll be introduced to the people, organisations, and opportunities most relevant to your business goals, helping you make valuable connections that count.
Alongside a main Expo space, you'll be able to access workshops and support sessions tailored to your specific needs, whether you're looking to grow your customer base, secure funding, embrace digital innovation, recruit talent, improve productivity, or explore new markets.
Whether you're a start-up taking your first steps, an established business looking to scale, or simply searching for fresh ideas and new partnerships, the Business Gateshead Expo is designed to help you find the support, insights, and connections that matter most.
Join us for a day of personalised networking, expert advice, and opportunities tailored to help your business thrive.
Presentation Suite
🕑: 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM
Finance for SMEs
Host: FW Capital
Info: Discover what funders and investors look for when assessing a business. This practical workshop will help you understand how to present your business effectively, strengthen your proposition, and prepare the key information needed to secure growth finance.
🕑: 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
From AI Curiosity to Business Case: Find Your First Practical AI Opportunity
Host: Pebble
Info: AI demonstrations can be impressive, but business owners need to understand where the technology can genuinely save time, reduce costs, improve customer service, or support growth.
In this practical session, you'll learn how to identify repetitive and time-consuming work within their business, decide whether AI is an appropriate solution, and develop a simple business case for taking action.
Using our AI Opportunity Canvas, participants will examine a real process from their own organisation and consider the problem they are trying to solve, the potential commercial benefit, the information and systems involved, any risks or safeguards, and the smallest practical experiment they could run.
The workshop will focus on achievable business improvements rather than expensive transformation programmes or AI hype. Attendees will leave with a prioritised use case and a clear next step they can apply within their business.
🕑: 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
Growing Your Business In The Public Sector
Host: NEPO
Info: Aimed at small businesses looking to work with the public sector, this session explores how businesses can access NEPO frameworks as a route into the public sector market. We'll also cover NEPRO, a suite of solutions designed as a neutral vendor model, allowing suppliers to become accredited at any time rather than waiting for the usual framework application windows.
🕑: 01:00 PM - 01:45 PM
Fraud Foundation - Building Resilience Against Fraud
Host: North East Regional Organised Crime Unit
Info: In today’s busy and complex world, the threat of fraud looms larger than ever. From the largest international corporations to the smallest business, with every community and individual, nobody is immune to the risks posed by criminals using fraud to steal your money and information. This is where the National Fraud Protect Network steps in, offering solutions to safeguard lives and protect finances.
Boardroom
🕑: 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM
AI: Myths, Risks & Benefits
Host: Digital Pathfinders
Info: Want to start using artificial intelligence but worried about the risks? This talk is here to help you. AI brings real risks alongside the benefits and a lot of organisations are walking into them without realising.
This session is a quick look at where things can go wrong and what it might cost you.
🕑: 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
Investor Readiness Workshop
Host: NEL
🕑: 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
Sales for people who'd rather do anything else
Host: Paula Harrison, Layers Studio
Info: Most founders didn't start a business because they love selling, and plenty actively avoid it. This session is a practical look at how to win work without feeling like a salesperson: how to have sales conversations that feel like normal conversations, how to qualify early so you stop chasing leads that were never going anywhere, and how to follow up without cringing at your own emails. Attendees will leave with a simple, repeatable approach they can use the same week.
🕑: 01:00 PM - 01:45 PM
TBD
Host: Executive Compass
The Glass Box
🕑: 10:00 AM - 10:45 AM
Your First Hire: Don't Let It Be Your First Lawsuit
Host: CLR Law
Info: Taking on your first employee? This session covers the essentials – contracts of employment, IP protection and restrictive covenants, hybrid working, disciplinary policies, and privacy notices - so you get it right from day one. Practical, no-nonsense guidance for business owners taking their first step into becoming an employer.
🕑: 11:00 AM - 11:45 AM
Unlocking hidden talent for business growth
Host: Gateshead Council
Info: Connect to Work is a free, voluntary employment support programme delivered by Gateshead Council through Working Gateshead. It helps residents who are out of work due to a health condition, disability or other long-term barriers, as well as those at risk of losing their job, to access and sustain meaningful employment. Participants receive personalised support from dedicated job coaches, including career planning, job matching, workplace adjustments and ongoing in-work support. The programme also works directly with employers to promote inclusive recruitment and create supportive workplaces, helping businesses access a wider talent pool while supporting residents to achieve their employment goals.
🕑: 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM
TBD
🕑: 01:00 PM - 01:45 PM
Target, Archetype, Fire: Brand Positioning Workshop
Host: James Hanson - Layers Studio
Info: A rapid discovery workshop focused on your brand, aiming to align your brand positioning with your target audience. We will focus on Archetypes and the importance of what story you're telling. Bring you note books and pens, we'll be getting you all to make some key decisions in how you position yourself.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
GBP 0.00
