We did it! We have finally made it to 2021. We learned a lot last year and are ready to move forward into the new year to see what opportunities it brings. With 2020 coming to an end, we want to share with you the work Hallpax has done within the last quarter, as well as exciting news about the future.
During our last quarter, Hallpax successfully hosted a fully virtual event, Cultivate Africa. After months of preparation, we went live on November 17th, 2020. Conversation topics surrounded policy, finance, supply chain, technology, gender, climate change, trade, insurance, and other current issues. With an attendance of over 2,500 participants from 40+ countries, more than 130 speakers, and over 30 sessions — Cultivate Africa was a great success.
By holding our own fully virtual event we saw first hand how the event industry is evolving with the ways of the world. Evolving technology has allowed people to host events with attendees from all over the world for half the cost. As the year continues we predict seeing a lot more hybrid elements coming into the industry as well. For Hallpax, we anticipate hosting only virtual events for at least the first two quarters of 2021.
Now that Virtual events are becoming more of the norm with the event industry and a lot of event coordinators are trying to figure out how to navigate this new component of the industry. As a company that has hosted and helped with many events, including virtual ones, we have seen this struggle firsthand. One thing we have noticed that could be helpful to any virtual event coordinators is to see yourself as a producer. You want to make sure that all of the new variables that come with virtual events are ready before you go live.
Of course, there are still some challenges when it comes to hosting a virtual event. We have seen organizations struggle to find ways to make virtual events more engaging for their attendees, while also striving for positive ROI. As a business in the event industry, we see these challenges and are looking for ways to overcome them. The only way to control these struggles is, ironically, by hosting more virtual events! Through experience hosting virtual events, we can see what works and what doesn’t. With that being said, we are excited to announce that our next event will be completely virtual and held in May of 2021, Travel Africa!
Travel Africa is an event that plans to talk about how the travel industry, primarily in Africa, has taken a big hit during the past year. This event will open up a continental conversation around aviation, hotels, tour guides, and how to make travel to Africa safer. With many travel restrictions still in place, we want to talk about looking closer to home when it comes to travel in Africa. This includes seeing what neighboring countries have to offer and creating travel income within the continent.
In closing, we would like to thank everyone who has been involved with Hallpax for sticking with us through this unpredictable year. We are proud of the work we accomplished last quarter, but we could not have done it without the support of our peers. We are excited to share new experiences and memories in the new year! See you next quarter!
Sincerely,
Mahider Tadesse
Founder
