One of the area's notable economic development conferences will return to Downtown Memphis this week.
The Economic Development Forumwill run from Aug. 25 through Aug. 27 at the Renasant Convention Center. The event is presented by the Mid-South Business Continuum and the Mid-South Technical Assistance Development Pool.
Economic Development Forum President and CEO Jozelle Booker said this year's conference is focusing on technology and automation and the intersection of advanced manufacturing with the local business community.
"It means we are convening and bringing together community stakeholders and leaders," she said. She added that the goal is to make sure local businesses do not feel left behind with new technology and business innovations
in the current market.
The event is in its 19th year and focuses on connecting small business owners with corporate procurement leaders, capital providers, and business-to-business connections.
This year's event also features several keynote speakers, including McKinsey Global Institute senior fellow Kevin Russell and Memphis native and co-founder of Magnus Robotics, Calin Zhou.
Zhou graduated from White Station High School in 2004 before moving to Silicon Valley and starting the robotics company. Mangus aims to bring robots into the workforce. The company is also working on several education initiatives to help youth develop workforce skills for artificial intelligence models and robotics training.
Booker also said "matchmaking" is a large element of the conference, connecting resources for businesses.
The conference will have several networking sessions along with a panel featuring Ardmore Roderick CEO Rashod Johnson regarding the bidding, investment and request-for-proposal (RFP) processes of landing large-scale projects.
Neil Strebig is a business journalist at The Commercial Appeal.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Economic Development Forum returns to Downtown Memphis Aug. 25-27
