Around 430 small to medium-sized businesses from around New Zealand are being given a unique opportunity to pitch their products and services to government buyers at a free event in Wellington on 9 May.

The Meet the Buyer event is being jointly run by the Ministry of Economic Development (MED) and BusinessNZ, and is the first of its kind involving government and business.

MED’s Procurement Policy and Development Manager, Murray Heyrick, says the event will help small to medium-sized businesses get a foot in the door with government agencies.

“We recognise that it’s not always easy for businesses to approach government agencies with their product or service. The idea of this pilot Meet the Buyer event is to give small to medium-sized businesses a platform to meet and greet the people who make the decisions about government procurement,” Murray says.

“Government agencies are a significant part of the economy and better access to them as purchasers can make a big difference for local businesses both in turnover and building capability. MED is to be congratulated for bringing many agencies together to interface with businesses in this way,” says BusinessNZ Chief Executive Phil O’Reilly.

Government buyers at the event include the Ministry of Social Development, ACC, the Department of Corrections, Police and Wellington City Council, among others. They are all interested in meeting suppliers who can provide a range of goods and services.

Meeting times have been scheduled throughout the day. Other activities include the ‘KiwiBank Theatre’ and Mini-Expo. The ‘Kiwibank Theatre’ will host speed presentations from both business and government experts on a range of topics.

The Mini-Expo will house a range of experts and organisations who support businesses and/or help them to do work with government. All are available to provide free advice and assistance throughout the day. They include: BusinessNZ/Employers

Chamber of Commerce Central, Grow Wellington, business.govt.nz, Government ICT Supply Management Office, Inland Revenue, Industry Capability Network, Government Procurement Solutions, Kiwibank and Shipley NZ.

Other presentations throughout the day include MED’s Government Procurement Solutions team covering topics such as tips for successful tendering to government, and what it is doing to make it easier for businesses to work with government.

Meet the Buyer runs all day at the Michael Fowler Centre on Wednesday 9 May 2012, and is an invitation-only event. Evaluations from this pilot will be used to determine if Meet the Buyer becomes a regular event.