APEC Hawaii Setting Up Virtual Marketplace

By Sonia Isotov

Hawaii Virtual Business Marketplace. Courtesy photo.

Using “virtual booths,” local Hawaii businesses will be able to connect with the 21 APEC economies and US mainland companies during the APEC 2011 Leaders’ Week taking place in Honolulu on Nov. 7-13.

The APEC 2011 Hawai‘i Host Committee and the Chamber of Commerce of Hawai‘i yesterday launched the Hawai‘i Virtual Business Marketplace (HVBM), designed to provide businesses the opportunity to advertise and market their products and services, and engage with global audiences through a virtual medium.

“The Host Committee looked at unique ways to provide opportunities for businesses to market themselves to an audience they wouldn’t normally have access to,” said Peter Ho, Hawai‘i Host Committee Chair, in a written statement. “Companies will be able to easily upload their information to build their virtual booth. Delegates will be able to log in to the site from their own laptops and also through tablets available at the Hawai‘i Convention Center during Leaders’ Week.”

HVBM is a virtual campus that will provide a variety of buildings and venues that cater to separate focus areas including elements such as an exhibition hall featuring individual companies’ booths; a Hawai‘i Industry Showcase Hall highlighting the state’s key industries of

Clean Energy, Ocean, Earth & Sky Sciences, Health & Life Sciences, and Corporate Conventions; a resource center providing a knowledge bank of important and useful resources to help enable the easy exchange of information and promote seamless business transactions; and a networking lounge where informal dialogues can take place through real-time chats.

Interested Hawai‘i businesses can submit applications to qualify for a booth now by visiting www.apec2011hawaii.com/virtual.html. The cost for each booth is $525. Post-APEC Leaders

Week, prices are subject to change. For more information, please contact [email protected].