When the doors of the third Launchpad Expo swing open in November, Karim Saber, co‑founder and CEO of The Strategic Co, will be watching the crowd of 5,000 visitors he hopes to attract. The buzz of startup booths, financing desks and logistics partners will echo the company’s original mission: to turn exhibition halls into networking hubs where SMEs meet the service providers they need.
From a Single Show to a Four‑Event Calendar
Launched in November 2025, the first Launchpad Expo drew about 3,000 attendees and 50 exhibitors. Six months later, the second edition welcomed the same number of visitors but grew to 61 exhibitors and 23 sponsors. Saber notes that roughly one‑third of the original participants returned, and some reported conversion rates near 20 percent from the contacts they made on the floor.
Building on that momentum, the firm plans four exhibitions in 2027—two Launchpad editions, a Coffee Connect Expo for the coffee industry, and BuildEx for construction and finishing trades. Across all events, The Strategic Co aims to sell between 10,000 and 15,000 sqm of exhibition space, a key performance metric for the year.