The Regional Business Recovery Roadshow, launched with the support of Crown Melbourne, will address the ongoing challenges of the pandemic as businesses rebuild and grapple with changing restrictions.
Across August, the series will visit major regional centres including Shepparton, Ararat,Ballarat, Benalla, Bendigo, the Bellarine Peninsula and Traralgon, providing a series of seminars to help local farmers, suppliers and producers bounce back from pandemic pressures.
Leading business experts VCCI senior health safety and wellbeing consultant Con Barbakas and Crown Resorts group general manager of procurement and supply Ben Briggs will chair the sessions, with Crown chefs touring alongside the roadshow to meet producers and scope out potential new suppliers.
VCCI chief executive Paul Guerra said Victoria was home to some of the world's "best produce".
“COVID-19 has created many challenges but has also revealed many opportunities and prompted us to focus on areas that we may have taken for granted, including the strength and reliability of our own food supply at a time of global uncertainty and international border closures,” he said.
“This roadshow provides an opportunity for our home-grown businesses to showcase their wares and also learn more about how they can upscale their operations.
“We have an opportunity now to harness and grow our domestic markets and nurture local supply chains which will benefit producers, purchasers and consumers and, in turn, the broader Australian economy.”
Mr Briggs said it was important to support Australian businesses.
“Consumers are . . . telling us that buying local is important. We’ve seen a big and well-documented swing with Victorians wanting to support Victorian produce and suppliers,” he said.
“With the ongoing impact of COVID-19, we hope that initiatives like this from VCCI bring new opportunities to regional Victoria and help our state to rebuild.”
The roadshow will kick off in Bendigo and Shepparton on Tuesday, August 3 before going to Benalla on August 4, Traralgon on August 10, Ballarat and Ararat on August 12 and wrapping up in Geelong on Friday, August 13.
