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West Suffolk Business Festival ‘one of the most exciting times of the year’ for Menta’s Alex Till




The chief executive of a business support organisation with a passion for micro businesses says he is excited by the upcoming West Suffolk Business Festival.

Opening on October 2, the two-week event aims to bring together a broad range of business organisations, and designed to showcase and discuss this year’s theme: ‘The Future of Work’.

Alex Till, chief executive of MENTA, said there was a lot of excitement for the festival.

Alex Till, chief executive of Menta. Picture by Mecha Morton
Alex Till, chief executive of Menta. Picture by Mecha Morton

He added: “The festival for us is one of the most exciting times of the year and it creates a sense of engagement within the West Suffolk business sector.

“For me that is something I find quite unique because there is a lot of doom and gloom around, but in fact we should be celebrating all of those new and emerging micro businesses as well as those that are long-standing, with all of them adding value to West Suffolk.”

MENTA launches the West Suffolk Business Festival with the Atkins Dellow networking brunch on Monday, @Inc in Bury St Edmunds.

Alongside the Sizewell C supply chain event on October 12, MENTA is also running a series of sales and digital skills training sessions – all MENTA events are being made free to attend.

On the theme of this year’s event, Alex said the world was changing and businesses had to be ready to change with it.

He added: “The future of work is fundamental important for me and something that everybody needs to address, however that may be.

“Over the past two years we have had massive impact, whether that be the pandemic or the change of working from home – people need to look at their skills, their knowledge, their values, attitude, beliefs, and understand how that fits into the working environment going forward.

“A lot of people’s views have changed and businesses once again are suddenly asking how they compete in an ever-changing market place, with the ever-increasing use of AI, how social media is being used to engage and bringing together the skills which we have from existing business owners and mapping those with some of the younger people who are coming into the environment.”

During the business festival MENTA is focused on expanding its pop-up networking events in both Brandon and Haverhill, with MENTA ensuring a platform for entrepreneurs and businesses to exchange ideas, forge partnerships, and create opportunities.

Asked what he hoped people who come to the awards would take from it, Alex said: “For me with all the changes facing businesses, the work energy and the impact of businesses within local communities needs to be celebrated and West Suffolk is unique in some of the businesses it has got.

“From new stage start ups to established businesses that energy, that dynamisim and that opportunity to celebrate it needs to be taken, to tell all businesses that we implore what you do and the benefits you give our county.“

Festival partners include Menta, The Apex, Suffolk Chamber of Commerce, West Suffolk Council, New Anglia Growth Hub, New Anglia LEP, Bury Free Press, Iliffe Media, Bank of England, Visit Suffolk, West Suffolk College, Bury St Edmunds and Beyond, University of Suffolk, New Anglia Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering, Hethel Innovation, West Suffolk Manufacturing Group, The EpiCentre, FSB.

For details, go to www.businessfestival.org