As we step into a new year, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the accomplishments of the past 12 months and set our sights on the opportunities ahead in 2025.
At Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce, this moment of reflection is just as important for us as it is for the businesses we support. So, let’s take a look back at the highlights of 2024 – celebrating the Chamber’s achievements and, more importantly, the successes of our members and the local business community we proudly serve.
Firstly, no round-up of 2024 could be complete without a mention of the SME Bedfordshire Business Awards, organised and hosted by the Chamber for the first time this year.
In keeping with our commitment to helping local businesses boost their profile and strengthen their publicity, this event shone a spotlight on around 40 Gold and Silver winners and attracted extensive coverage in the media and on social networks.
The increased exposure the event brought to local businesses was already, for us, a triumph, but when we reviewed the numbers, there was even more to celebrate – 2024 saw the highest number of entries ever, setting the stage for the 2025 event to be an even more thrilling showcase of what we can achieve together.
Driving business beyond borders
At the Chamber, we’ve always been huge believers in our local businesses’ ability to sell to markets outside the UK, and 2024 saw us ramping up our activities to support export and global trade.
Drawing on the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), we delivered, with Central Bedfordshire Council, an export readiness support programme, including export grants.
It’s helped businesses taking their first steps towards trading outside their borders, as well as more experienced exporters looking to move into new markets.
All this was in addition to the ongoing activities of our long-established Global Trade team, who in 2024 onboarded many new exporters, contributing to a real increase in the value of exports within the Chamber’s member businesses and in the wider region.
It’s evidence, if any were needed, that export is a potential revenue stream for many businesses – all they need is the Chamber’s helping hand. And it’s not too late, as support is available until March 31, 2025. Get in touch if we can help take your business global.
Tackling tough times together
Nobody can pretend, of course, that 2024 wasn’t without its challenges – a late-in-the-day, business-unfriendly budget being amongst them.
But what resounds strongly in the Chamber’s metrics in 2024 is a palpable sense, amongst businesses, of the importance of being part of something bigger when you’re battling downside.
So, in addition to a healthy influx of new members during the year, we also achieved an incredible member retention figure – one of the highest, in fact, in the national network of Chambers as a whole.
Attendance at all Chamber events was also well up on the previous year, and one of the most exciting developments was that our member-to-member referrals – where members engage in business with each other – hit over 500 in the year.
What this shows is that the Chamber isn’t just a place where there is safety and solidarity in numbers, it’s a place of vibrancy and interaction too – a catalyst for businesses to thrive and grow, as well as an environment that champions and protects their interests.
What can you expect from the Chamber in 2025?
Looking forward to next year, we’re already pretty eager and energised, with positive prospects and tentative green lights on the horizon for both the Chamber and the wider business and county community.
The Universal Studios proposal to turn the old Stewartby brickworks into a film theme park, and the London Luton Airport expansion plans, for example, are both close to the final decision stage (at the time of writing), and it could be that 2025 is the year when both come to fruition.
From our point of view, 2025 will also be the year of launches and rollouts, as we drive several projects forward to improve the member experience and increase our sector-specific engagement.
Amongst these will be a next-generation Chamber network aimed specifically at young professionals, the expansion of our artificial intelligence (AI) platform to unearth deeper prospects and synergies between our members, and, around April, time, the go-live of our manufacturing and engineering sector group.
Clearly, the next SME Awards are also front of mind, as we continue to raise the bar on getting our outstanding local businesses and innovators known in the county and its communities. The launch event is on January 15. Don’t miss it!
On the social value front, we’ll be focusing more on improving and evidencing our own and our members’ sustainability and looking to expand our Strategic Partners in membership – we have an exciting new partnership to announce at the end of January, so keep a close eye on our announcements.
And our key metrics for 2025? Continuing to grow our peer networks, supporting businesses to engage with new opportunities – not just locally, but also nationally and internationally – building more extensive connections, and raising both our and our members’ profiles still higher.
All in a year’s work for the team here! We look forward to working with you in 2025.
For more information on becoming a Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce member, call the friendly team on 01582 522448, or visit www.chamber-business.com
Justin Richardson CEO Bedfordshire Chamber of Commerce
