"Of course we love the chance to meet the public face-to-face, and we know our business community values the opportunity to meet and interact at our events," Sykes said.
"Unfortunately, if we went ahead with an in-person event we would have had to limit the number of people able to attend, and social distancing rules would've made it difficult for them to interact with each other.
"We see going online as an excellent compromise though, especially at a time when it's so important for local businesses to understand how our economy is performing."
Sykes said Whanganui & Partners was eager to hear from Bagrie, and was reassured by the most up-to-date data that the local economy was well placed despite the challenges of lockdown periods and restrictions on businesses' ability to operate.
The past few months have also tested Whanganui & Partners' Innovate finalists more than many had anticipated and there's another challenge yet to come as they face the judges in a new format.
What was to be a dinner event attended by hundreds has now been reimagined, with an even bigger audience possible as it will now be live-streamed to an unlimited number of viewers.
Tim Easton, the economic development agency's strategic lead – business, said the final pitches would now take place in an atmosphere reminiscent of a Dragon's Den episode.
"We'll have a panel of four judges and a small number of sponsors watching the Top 7's pitches, it'll be intense and exciting and we know the online audience will add to that sense of anticipation."
Easton said the event would now take place in a private function room and details around how to register to watch the event live would be updated on the Innovate Whanganui website, and through Whanganui & Partners' channels, as the details were confirmed.
Whanganui & Partners' Public Forum will be taking place online on September 28 and Innovate Whanganui final will be on October 7. Register at discoverwhanganui.nz/forum.
