2025 Geelong Small Business Festival - Expression of Interest

The City of Greater Geelong in partnership with the Geelong Chamber of Commerce are seeking expressions of interest (EOI) from suitably qualified and experienced businesses, consultants, and organisations to host events at this year’s Geelong Small Business Festival (GSBF).

Expressions of interest are open to all local businesses, consultants and organisations with a current Australian Business Number (ABN) that can deliver events to support local businesses across a range of areas, including:

• Marketing, social media and online promotion
• Business essentials
• Starting a business
• Growing a business, sales and expanding networks
• Career development, leading and managing people
• Health and wellbeing
• Sustainability, circular economy and corporate social responsibility
  
  

The Geelong Small Business Festival will be held between 4 – 15 August 2025, and all proposed events will be scheduled during this time. Events should be free or low-cost and open for anyone to attend. Events can be held online or in-person.

It is recommended that you consider attendee's experience. Whilst it is not expected, many of our facilitators provide light catering for their attendees. Any chosen catering will be at a cost of the facilitating organisation.

All in-person events will be held in one of two designated, accessible GSBF Venue Hubs at the City of Greater Geelong Civic Precinct building Wurriki Nyal and in the Surf Coast Shire. Proposed events should offer one (or more) of the following benefits for the local business community:

• Provide an opportunity to support, strengthen and grow local businesses by sharing practical advice, tips and insights based on your expertise
• Offer a platform for local businesspeople to build networks and collaborate
• Connect people with business experts who can educate and advise them on their business
• Help improve the skills and capabilities of local business and their employees
• Empower and support people looking to start or grow a business

If your EOI submission is successful, we will use the information in your submission to create your event listing and event description.  As such, some of the following information will be made public.

Form Preview 

The City of Greater Geelong and the Geelong Chamber of Commerce are not responsible for applicant content or any omissions. Successful applicants will have the opportunity to update content before the program is available to the public.

All EOI submissions will be assessed by the Geelong Small Business Festival (GSBF) Working Group, comprising representatives from the City of Greater Geelong and the Geelong Chamber of Commerce.

The GSBF Working Group reserves the right to accept or refuse EOI submissions based on a competitive assessment process, and according to which events they deem most suitable for this year’s GSBF.

• Expressions of Interest open 9am, Monday 5 May 2025
• Expressions of Interest close 5pm, Monday 19 May 2025
• Successful and unsuccessful applications will be notified of their Expression of Interest outcome in the week commencing Monday 2 June 2025
• Successful applicants to attend an Information Session on Wednesday 4 June 2025
• Program live – 2pm, Tuesday 24 June 2025
• Festival Dates – Monday 4 August to Friday 15 August 2025
• Launch Event – Monday 4 August 2025

All successful applicants must commit to the following:

• Commit to the timeframes set by the GSBF Working Group to assist with managing the GSBF.
• Acknowledge the GSBF Partnership in all marketing and communication of your approved event as the “Geelong Small Business Festival is delivered by the City of Greater Geelong, in partnership with the Geelong Chamber of Commerce.”
• Provide the GSBF Working Group with the requested attendee information ahead of the event, including the number of registered participants, names, and contact details, to support security arrangements at Wurriki Nyal.
• Provide the GSBF Working Group requested information at the conclusion of their event, including the number of people who registered and attended.
• Provide the GSBF Working Group with booking link details prior to Thursday 9 June 2025.

This year the GSBF Working Group will schedule all events within the festival dates 4-15 August 2025.

Applicants will have an opportunity to identify any dates/times that they are not available to present.

Every effort will be made to accommodate successful EOI proposed event date/ time/ venue requests, however the GSBF Working Group reserves the right to propose changes to minimise clashes wherever possible and ensure it fits with the rest of the GSBF calendar of events.

The City of Greater Geelong and the Geelong Chamber of Commerce reserve the right to use any successful applicant’s event description and images to promote their events and the GSBF program via various media and promotional channels. We also reserve the right to request an alternative image or provide a stock image for your event if the one you provide is not suitable.