Participation of start-ups and student placements are among the activities that industry body Confederation of West Bengal Trade Association has planned at the 2023 edition of the five-day Bengal Global Trade Expo.

The CWBTA on Wednesday said the expo will witness participation from about 100 start-ups to showcase their products and services along with participation from investors and academic partners in an exclusive conclave. The Expo will also offer placement opportunities to students from different colleges.

“This year the expo is bigger with around 500 stalls covering almost 28 sectors and for the first time will offer more than 300 placement opportunities to students. The expo will also provide expansion opportunity to businesses and we seek to improve the trading value chain and market opportunities,” said Sushil Poddar, president of the CWBTA.

State industry promotion body WBIDC is part of the expo. State ministers FirhadHakim and Shashi Panja and senior government officials were present at the inauguration of the expo on Wednesday.

While urban development minister Hakim said that start-ups and next generation entrepreneurs need to be encouraged for business growth, commerce and industries minister Panja said that the state has done well in exports.

India SME Forum is hosting a digitisation drive in collaboration with Forum for Internet Retailers, Sellers and Traders.