Preparations are in full swing for this year’s EFB Summit, which will take place in Rome in October, and Malta’s family businesses are being invited to be part of the exciting programme. The annual summit, which specifically connects the owners, leaders and members of family businesses from different European countries to other like-minded individuals, is being organised by EFB – a European organisation for family businesses – in collaboration with AIDAF, which is the Italian chapter of the organisation.
“Malta’s Family Business unit is a regulatory office set up by law, and we are members of the EFB. We count around 330 registered businesses and our invitation is open to all of them. This year is an excellent opportunity for those who would like to benefit from all the opportunity that the event brings with it, with the least possible travel time and costs required,” Dr Joseph Gerada, who is the Regulator at the Family Business Office, explains..
The seminar takes place over three days between Thursday and Saturday, with attendance on the last day being optional for those who are really pressed for time. The programme is a veritable who’s who of hugely successful brands that started out as family businesses, with names like Giuseppe Lavazza (Chair of Lavazza Group), Alessandro Boglione (Executive Vice Chairman of BasicNet), Josè Rallo (CEO and co-owner of Donnafugata), the owners of illycaffè S.p.A and Enrico Marchi (Chair of Finint Banking Group) leading the discussions and the workshops among others.
“What’s notable is that, while they started out as small family businesses, today these brands are all international success stories and household names. They will be sharing their challenges, processes and methods with the participants, and the knowledge that can be gained by Malta’s small business leaders is invaluable,” Dr Gerada says.
But the benefits go beyond the scheduled events and workshops. With around 65 per cent of European countries represented at the EFB, those who are part of the Maltese delegation will be in a position to network with countless other family businesses who have been through the same experiences and challenges as they have.
“Once the delegation members are finalised, we are looking into putting the Maltese family businesses in touch with other participants immediately, so that they can hit the ground running with connections and possible meetings as soon as we arrive in Rome,” Dr Gerada elaborated, noting that with Malta and Italy being so culturally close this edition of the summit was likely to be one of the most fruitful for Maltese participants.
Moreover, the summit will also offer the opportunity to develop new business development strategies, especially for those family businesses who are interested in the potential of importing or exporting services and goods. The programme is also set to tackle topics that are particularly interesting to family-owned businesses, such as work/life balance, succession and governance structures.
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