Antigonish Regional Development Authority, where ideas take root

Antigonish Reverse Tradeshow

On May 28, 2009, ARDA, in partnership with Nova Scotia Economic and Rural Development, hosted a Reverse Tradeshow. And what is a Reverse Tradeshow you might ask? Well, it’s a twist on the traditional tradeshow.

Instead of business, consultants, etc. setting up booths and selling their goods and/or services to the general public, government agencies set up booths to advertise what goods/services they purchase. So it is the small businesses, contractors, consultants, etc. that go from booth to booth to learn what agencies would buy their goods/services.

Every small business has the potential to sell their products and/or services to the government. The Antigonish Reverse Tradeshow had 15 booths set-up from various government agencies and departments including Eastern Mainland Housing Authority, Nova Scotia Community College, Procurement Services, St. Francis Xavier University, Transportation & Infrastructure, the Strait Regional School Board, and the Guysborough Antigonish Strait Health Authority. Over the course of the afternoon, over 40 people attended the tradeshow and the feedback for the event was great.

The Tender Opportunities and User Resource lists tenders online that are currently posted by government departments, agencies, boards, commissions, municipalities, academic institutions, school boards, and hospitals.

The Nova Scotia Business Registry offers a free service that allows you to receive email notifications when new tenders become available.

Reverse Tradeshow’s are held throughout the province as part of the provincial Supplier Development Program from N.S. Economic and Rural Development.