The Business Centre Corporation (BCC) has announced that religious products will have a dedicated category at this year’s National Innovation and Enterprise Expo.
At last year’s expo, religious products were included under categories within other sectors.
The National Innovation and Enterprise Expo 2026 is offering Maldivian producers the opportunity to showcase their products and services across 73 categories in 16 sectors. The deadline for submitting products is Wednesday, 31 August.
Speaking on PSM News’ 'Raajje Miadhu' programme, BCC Assistant Director of Strategic Development Areesa Moosa said a new sector has been introduced this year for products submitted to the expo. This will allow various religious products to participate under a dedicated category, she said.
Areesa noted that at last year’s National Innovation and Enterprise Expo, various religious products were allowed to participate under categories belonging to other sectors. However, given the positive response to such products, a completely new sector has been designated for them this year, with several categories included within the sector.
“There are three additional categories under the religious products sector. The first category is audio-visual content created to promote religious awareness. The second category includes various products created to teach religion to children. The third category includes other products that provide religious information in addition to the two categories mentioned earlier,” Areesa said.
Areesa said last year’s expo also provided an opportunity to view a variety of products in the handicrafts sector. She added that there was strong interest in the creative arts and design sector, which includes areas such as drawing and animation, while a range of products from the IT sector were also showcased at last year’s expo.
She said this demonstrated that these sectors have significant potential to further develop the creative skills of Maldivians. In addition, a variety of products from the creative economy sector are expected to be showcased at this year’s expo, she said.
President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has designated 2026 as the Year National Innovation. In line with this, BCC said its aim for this year’s expo is to create the best possible opportunity for Maldivian producers to showcase and market their products and services.
BCC said it has so far received more than 350 applications from those seeking to participate in the expo.
This year’s expo is scheduled to be held from 23 to 31 October. The expo provides a major opportunity for Maldivian producers to showcase their skills, and BCC has urged interested parties to register as soon as possible rather than waiting until the deadline.
Those wishing to participate can submit their applications through the expo.mv portal.