03 Aug 2016 Mansfield Courier, Mansfield VIC (General News) THE 2016 Small Business Festival was launched last week. Small business operators in the region are being provided with a range of free and low-cost events to network and support the growth of their businesses. The festival is part of the state-wide Small Business Festival Victoria, which runs annually throughout August. This year has a strong regional focus with half of the program to run across eight regional sites in a festivalfirst. Jaclyn Symes (MLC, Northern Victoria) said: The North East is full of fantastic and innovative small business owners, and the Victoria Small Business Festival is a great opportunity for them to connect with each other and acquire the latest industry tools to grow their business and provide more jobs for the local community. No specific events are planned within Mansfield, however, there are a number of events across the wider North East area. Victoria is home to 542,000 small businesses and nearly a third of them are based in regional and rural areas. For more information on 2016 Small Business Festival Victoria events, visit www. business.vic.gov.au/festival. Licensed by Copyright Agency. You may only copy or communicate this work with a licence.