Focusing on small and medium sized companies, Export Week has given British businesses access to support from experts with experience in over 70 countries, unlocking the chance to boost sales overseas.
Local speakers shared their experiences of working overseas at more than 100 events this week to help businesses learn more about exporting.
Export Week 2012 takes place exactly one year after the Prime Minister set a national challenge to raise the number of small businesses that export from one in five to one in four.
Trade and Investment Minister Lord Green said:
“Through Export Week, we want to further strengthen the momentum of the national challenge and reach as many businesses as we can with information about the support available for selling their products and services.”
“The UK’s future prosperity will not come from relying on domestic markets alone. We want to make sure that UK firms are not just trading abroad but thriving there and competing with the best the rest of the world has to offer.
“UK Trade & Investment has a crucial role to play and we are pursuing an ambitious programme to double the number of businesses we help by 2015. We are working in new markets and with new exporters from across Britain to make sure they have every opportunity to realise their potential.”
Liz Basing Regional Director of UKTI in East of England said:
“Export Week 12-16th November is part of a national drive to get more companies to look at exporting as a way to win new business and to show, through events across the region, the support and advice available to help them succeed.’
Previous experience shows that more than half of British businesses who work with UKTI secure additional sales of £600,000 within two years, and new research released today shows that UKTI’s regional network is delivering substantial benefits to firms across the country.
Bury St Edmunds-based software company Green Duck were among more than 200 companies attending the Explore Export event at Duxford on Monday this week. The company sells training and E-Learning software for Health Service providers. Business Development Manager for Green Duck, David Palmer commented:
“This was the first time Green Duck have attended a UKTI event and we found it very helpful in putting plans together. We were struck by the willingness of the countries attending to engage with small to medium sized enterprises from Britain. It was particularly useful to hear of the range of support which UKTI could offer, as this is very much a hand-holding exercise for us as we look forward to expanding our export efforts in Australia, Canada and United Arab Emirates. “
A survey of 600 businesses reveals that between 2010 and 2012, firms that received UKTI support showed a 5.5 per cent annual increase in turnover. The benefits of exporting are not confined to large companies, as 90% of those who work with UKTI are small and medium-sized enterprises.
Export Week has also promoted the recently launched ‘Open to Export’ Service, a free online community that gives small businesses the guidance and in-depth information they need to expand their business abroad. www.opentoexport.com.
Through Open to Export, companies can access practical information on export topics, connect and engage with a range of exporters and explore the latest international opportunities for their business. In addition to accessing government advice, through international trade advisors based at British embassies and high commissions, companies can also receive support from existing and prospective exporters, lawyers, accountants and independent trade advisors.
____________________________________________________