AEDA Business Summit: connecting Adelaide to its future
The inaugural Adelaide Economic Development Agency (AEDA) Business Summit promises innovative ideas and insights into how Adelaide can set the scene for future business opportunities, both domestically and nationally.
It is time for the “big conversations” about how cities can evolve and adapt, Adelaide Economic Development Agency’s Managing Director Ian Hill says.
With this in mind, the City of Adelaide subsidiary will stage its inaugural AEDA Business Summit this month. It will bring together world-class speakers, including The Demographics Group Executive Director Bernard Salt AM, as well as leaders in economics, commercial property, retail and tourism sectors.
Collectively, they will share insights and ideas to inform the future state of Adelaide, as well as a vision for local business collaboration.
Hill says the Summit’s timing is right in a “living with COVID” world, given the level of development already planned.
“We’ve got a whole range of city-shaping projects that are in the pipeline, from the City of Adelaide and from the private sector,” says Hill.
“It’s really good timing now for how we position Adelaide. Not only as currently the third most liveable city in the world, but for how we become the most liveable city in the world.
“We feel that now AEDA is established and up and running, it’s time to really start engaging with a whole range of city-shaping companies, individuals and groups, and really start that big conversation.
“It’s also a great opportunity for us to maybe share a little bit about AEDA and who we are and how we can help.”
Other panellists at the Summit will include Arcadier Chief Executive Dinuke Ranasinghe and SA Productivity Commission Chair Adrian Tembel.
Hill says panellists that hail from across Australia “bring a perspective that you don’t always get internally”.
Similarly, there will also be a mix of big and small businesses.
“Dinuke Ranasinghe is creating a digital marketplace for Adelaide, which is a really exciting way of helping bricks and mortar small businesses find a way of distributing their goods and services online,” says Hill.
“Then we’ve got some great local standout people like Eloise Hall, the cofounder of TABOO.
“We’ve also got Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor and City of Adelaide Chief Executive Clare Mockler speaking.
“And of course, we’ve got a new government. It’s going to be great to hear the Premier’s vision for the CBD.”
The AEDA Business Summit provides a unique platform for city business leaders to network and will help shape opportunities for Adelaide’s economy in a post-COVID world.
Hill says all industry groups would benefit greatly from the Summit.
“The range of speakers and the deep rich insights that we’re going to get from them transcend way beyond just some sectors,” he says.
“This is about what cities look like, how they feel, how do they become even more vibrant.”
Hill cites Tourism Australia’s Destination Australia conference as a similar event that galvanised a sector and eventually included targets to grow the industry in a coordinated way.
“I think we’re in a unique moment here – there are so many good things going on,” Hill says.
“If we really want to keep and maintain the best talent or attract the best talent from both within Adelaide, South Australia, the eastern seaboard and, quite frankly, globally, what does our city start to really look like?
“I suspect a lot of this will come down to experiences. I think it’s those that those global cities that that people gravitate towards, they’re often experiential, and full of opportunity.”
Wednesday, 25 May 2022
9.30am – 4.30pm
Adelaide Oval
