SHENZHEN, China, July 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — October marks one of China’s most important sourcing seasons, as global buyers travel to South China for the Canton Fair. This year, why not begin the journey just a short distance away in Shenzhen? From October 13-15, 2026, the fourth Connexion ShenZhen, organized by Shanghai Sinoexpo Informa Markets International Exhibition Co., Ltd, will take place at Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center in the same October sourcing window as Canton Fair Phase 1, inviting international visitors to stop in Shenzhen before continuing to Guangzhou and add more suppliers, categories and business opportunities to their South China itinerary. As a one-stop mega sourcing event serving the Greater Bay Area, the show will span 200,000 square meters across nine halls, bringing together 2,000+ exhibitors, 150,000+ professional visitors, two themed exhibitions and ten key sectors covering food and beverage, hospitality, furniture, health, lifestyle, machinery and electronics. Major fourth-edition upgrades include the launch of a dedicated Machinery & Electronic Equipment Themed Exhibition, more than 100 forums, product launches and business-matching activities, an English-language visitor app, and a limited Overseas Buyer Dual-City Package offering accommodation, transport and onsite support. Stop by Shenzhen, then continue to the Canton Fair – and make your South China sourcing journey broader, easier and more productive.

The platform is designed to help buyers compare products, production capabilities, commercial equipment and end-use solutions in one efficient visit – from ingredients and manufacturing through to retail, hospitality and smart commercial applications.

Two Themed Exhibitions, Ten Key Sectors, Endless Opportunities

The Catering, Hotel, Furniture, Health and Lifestyle Themed Exhibition will cover catering food, coffee and tea; hospitality products and design; commercial space and cross-border e-commerce; natural products and health ingredients; and urban lifestyle, gifts and market concepts. These categories will serve buyers across hospitality, foodservice, wellness, retail, interior projects and lifestyle distribution.

The newly added Machinery & Electronic Equipment Themed Exhibition will extend the sourcing journey into food processing and packaging; catering equipment; electronics and electrical appliances; cleaning and property management; and lighting, intelligent systems and smart hotel solutions. It will give international buyers more ways to source across production, commercial operations and customer-facing applications – particularly in fast-growing markets across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe, the Americas and Belt and Road economies.

Stop by Connexion Shenzhen and continue to Canton Fair

The new October schedule creates a practical dual-city itinerary for global buyers. Visitors can begin in Shenzhen on October 13-15 to meet suppliers and explore South China’s manufacturing and commercial innovation ecosystem, then continue to Guangzhou for Canton Fair Phase 1. By linking two major sourcing stops in one trip, the route is designed to broaden supplier discovery while helping buyers make better use of their time and travel budget in the Greater Bay Area.

Qualified overseas professional buyers may also apply for the limited Overseas Buyer Dual-City Package. Subject to application review and final confirmation, approved buyers can receive a one-night hotel stay with breakfast, hotel-to-venue transport, an onward shuttle from Shenzhen to Guangzhou or the Canton Fair area, VIP Lounge access, a business lunch and business matchmaking support. Applications close on September 24, 2026, and availability is limited.

An official app built for overseas visitors

The official English-language Connexion ShenZhen app is now available as a practical visitor tool. Overseas buyers can use it to browse show information, exhibitors, products and categories; check hall maps and concurrent events; access tickets, transport and visitor services; and plan their onsite route before arrival. Visitors can search “Connexion ShenZhen” on the Apple App Store or Google Play.

Beyond the exhibition floor, more than 100 forums, competitions, special showcases, product launches, markets and business-matching activities are planned. The program will help buyers identify emerging trends, meet selected suppliers and explore new products and commercial applications across hospitality, lifestyle, machinery and electronics.

Connexion ShenZhen’s international reach continues to grow. The 2025 edition welcomed overseas visitors from 117 countries and regions, demonstrating the platform’s potential for cross-border trade and supplier-buyer connections. With the earlier show dates, the Canton Fair alignment, the new machinery and electronics offering and upgraded English-language services, the 2026 edition is positioned to deliver an even more productive sourcing experience for global professionals.

Plan your visit

Official website: www.connexion.cn/en/
Visitor registration: Register for a free visitor ticket
Overseas Buyer Dual-City Package: View the overseas landing page

About Connexion ShenZhen

Connexion ShenZhen is a flagship one-stop sourcing platform in South China organized by Shanghai Sinoexpo Informa Markets International Exhibition Co., Ltd. The event connects catering, hotel, furniture, health, lifestyle, machinery and electronic equipment industries, bringing together suppliers, buyers, brands and professional communities from China and overseas. The fourth edition will take place from October 13 to 15, 2026, at Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center.

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SOURCE Informa Markets Sinoexpo

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., July 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Apaluma, which transforms fragmented regulatory records into a unified ecosystem, today announced the closing of its $5.55 million seed funding round led by Crosslink Capital and Kickstart, co-led by Haven Ventures and Overwater Ventures, with Orange DAO and NM Vintage Fund as additional pre-seed and seed investors.

Government agencies hold the data that shapes daily life: Permits, regulations, and environmental records are all public records. Most of it sits in PDFs, scanned ledgers, and incompatible databases. It exists, but no one can use it. Apaluma transforms fragmented regulatory records into one connected ecosystem.

The records become searchable, secure, mapped to real-world locations, and governed by each agency’s own rules. The platform is purpose-built for the full regulatory life cycle and serves analysts, scientists, and regulators who need answers in hours, not weeks.

“With Apaluma, every record — from filing to enforcement — lives in one connected system,” said Apaluma founder and CEO Alicia J. Keyes. “That unification expedites permitting, speeds up FOIA requests, streamlines agency operations, and makes the regulatory life cycle of a location coherent and actionable.”

“We invest in founders who understand a problem from the inside,” said Gabby Contro of Crosslink Capital. “Alicia ran economic development for the state of New Mexico. She has sat at the nexus of sustainability and development. That firsthand insight is what convinced us that Apaluma can solve this long-fragmented problem for regulators and businesses.”

For more information, visit www.apaluma.com.

FAQ

What environmental data does Apaluma work with?

Government agencies hold the world’s most critical data sets around air, water, energy, and waste — data that shapes daily life via permits, regulations, environmental records, and public filings.

How does Apaluma unify government environmental data?

Apaluma links every facility, permit, violation, and record by meaning through data ontology, not just by keyword, so queries surface the full regulatory picture of a location.

How does Apaluma handle environmental data digitization?

Apaluma ingests decades of scanned PDFs, classifying and normalizing records into structured intelligence. The platform also connects legacy systems without rip-and-replace, so agency data stays where it lives.

Can Apaluma support a public environmental data project?

In New Mexico, the Apaluma platform ingested every public document the New Mexico Environment Department has ever filed, normalized it, and made the entire archive searchable from a single interface, with cited sources on every answer.

Does Apaluma work with air pollution data, pollution data, and air quality data for government agencies?

The platform connects monitoring feeds and sensor data to decades of permitting context on a single dashboard, unifying siloed state, federal, city, and county records into maps, charts, and dashboards in one place.

Does Apaluma offer water-quality data solutions?

Apaluma is used daily by permit reviewers, compliance officers, and water-quality analysts — all without hallucinated facts or untraceable claims.

For more information:
matthewmurray@cozen.com

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SOURCE Apaluma

Four co-located exhibitions will connect global buyers, investors and companies across trade, logistics, energy and technology.

PANAMA CITY, July 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama (CCIAP) has launched its 2027 trade exhibition platform, positioning Panama as a strategic gateway for U.S. and global companies seeking access to Latin America, the Caribbean and the Andean region.

EXPOCOMER, EXPO LOGÍSTICA PANAMÁ, EXPO ELÉCTRICA INTERNACIONAL – PANAMÁ and EXPO TECH will take place April 6-8, 2027, at the Panama Convention Center in Amador. The three-day program is expected to attract more than 20,000 visitors, including buyers, exhibitors and trade missions from over 30 countries.

The platform is designed to accelerate cross-border transactions, expand market access for Panamanian and international companies, and support investment and job creation in high-growth sectors

“Panama offers an ideal environment for building high-impact partnerships and developing sustainable solutions for the Latin American market,” said Aurelio Barría Pino, president of CCIAP. “These exhibitions are powerful economic platforms that generate business opportunities, commercial transactions and employment.”

The four events will bring together decision-makers across global commerce, multimodal transportation, supply chains, infrastructure, energy efficiency, renewable energy, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and digital transformation. The agenda will include business matchmaking, commercial showcases, executive networking and specialized forums focused on innovation and regional competitiveness.

Gustavo Taft, president of CCIAP’s Organizing Committee for Exhibitions and Events, said the initiative formally activates an international sales and promotion platform for Panama. Sustainability and environmentally responsible innovation will be central to the 2027 program.

The launch brought together senior government officials, business leaders, diplomats and representatives of multilateral financial institutions, including the Inter-American Development Bank, CAF – Development Bank of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration.

CCIAP also highlighted World of Coffee Panama 2026, scheduled for October 23-25, when the event will be held in Latin America and in a coffee-producing country for the first time.

MEDIA CONTACT: María Eugenia Grimaldo Araúz | megrimaldo@panacamara.org | +507 207-3420, Lorena Espinosa | lespinosa@panacamara.org

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SOURCE CÁMARA DE COMERCIO DE PANAMÁ