Upper Hunter Shire Council and Scone Chamber of Commerce hosted a small business expo in Scone on Monday 26 October 2020, bringing together business representatives and guest speakers to collaborate in identifying new investment opportunities to the region.

Guest speakers included former Lord Mayor of Sydney, Lucy Turnbull, Marty Adnum (Out of the Square Media) and David Paradice (Paradice Investment Management), as well as local representatives; Kiwa Fisher (Upper Hunter Shire Council), Rachael McGuirk (Helloworld Travel Scone) Steve Tilse (Upper Hunter Country Tourism) and Alice Messara (Arrowfield Stud).

In the wake of COVID-19 and the ongoing impacts of the Scone Bypass, the event included discussion of new and existing markets for the region, and opportunities for investment attraction. Some of the opportunities discussed included an increase in cycle ways for the Upper Hunter region, leveraging the already strong horse breeding economy, expanding the education industry in Scone, and attracting tourism to the region.