Southeast IT companies are encouraged to attend a June 19-21 trade conference in Fort-de-France, Martinique.

The French Trade Commission in Atlanta and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Martinique are seeking small-to medium-sized information technology companies in the Southeast to attend a June 19-21 subsidized trade conference in Fort-de-France, Martinique.

The Madintech-Novatech Summit, is to bring together about 150 Internet-oriented technology companies from throughout Europe and North and South America that are interested in doing business in the Caribbean.  The summit will start with two days of trade show exhibitions and finish with a day-long session of one-on-one business meetings.

“This is a pretty unique opportunity for American companies to meet with new businesses that are very dynamic,” said Hélène Dubarry, senior trade attaché in the services industry division of the trade commission, who is recruiting Southeastern companies to register online for the show before May 19 http://www.madintech.eu/.

Interested companies must meet qualification standards to attend the event, since the Martinique chamber is covering airfare, two nights in a hotel, transportation to and from the trade show venue, lunches, dinners and interpreting fees for participants. 

To qualify, companies must be small-to medium-sized and involved with Internet-related services in the fields of administration, commerce, education, health, risk management or tourism.  Suppliers of IT equipment and services, mobile technology, high-speed connections and telecommunication are also eligible to attend.

Funds from the European Union are supporting the three-day conference, Ms. Dubarry said, explaining that it was an effort to help grow Caribbean economies with information technology development. 

Martinique and the archipelago of Guadeloupe are France’s two overseas departments in the Caribbean and benefit from the country's status as an E.U. member state.

Other E.U. member nations are expected to send companies to the conference. They include Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Latvia, Italy, Poland, Slovakia and the United Kingdom. Companies from Caribbean nations and other islands are also scheduled to attend.

Cost to attend the show is $130.  Cost to give a technical presentation is $455, and the cost to set up a booth during the three-day event is $1,200.