EXPORTERS
EXPORTING FOR GROWTH
NATIONAL CHALLENGE
Supported by HSBC and PwC, the Government is leading a campaign to help SMEs grow through foreign trade
B
ritain’s small and medium-sized fi rms (SMEs) are set to benefi t from a co-ordinated, national
programme to encourage more of them to export their goods and services overseas in the coming year. Launched by Prime Minister David Cameron in November and backed by ministers including Vince Cable and Lord Green, the Exporting for Growth initiative offers a series of programmes and co-ordinated help from professional advisers to business – including Britain’s bankers, accountants and lawyers – to boost SME’s awareness of overseas opportunities. Speaking at the launch of the initiative, the Prime Minister paid tribute to the exporting success of Britain’s SMEs: “We’re selling tea to China, vodka to Poland and cheese to France. There’s even a fi rm in Anglesey selling canoes to the eskimos. British SMEs are already doing incredible things. And we urgently need more of them to follow that boldness. “Increasing the number of SMEs that sell overseas by 100,000 has the potential to add £30bn to the UK economy. In other words, if we boost the number that export from around one in fi ve to over one in four we could pretty much wipe out the trade defi cit. And create around 100,000 jobs.” A central part of the campaign
revolves around boosting the role played by the business advisers that SMEs work with, in inspiring them to export and supporting them with practical
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www.ukti.gov.uk
help to trade overseas. These advisers recognise how vital international trade is to UK growth and are already active in this area. Here are just a few examples of what some of them are doing already to support exporting for growth.
OVERSEAS WINS HSBC is backing the campaign with an
extensive programme of related activities to include its Business Thinking Awards. According to Ian Tandy, UK head of trade for HSBC, exports are going to be a key source of growth for its UK customers. “Domestic markets are in the doldrums and the recovery is fragile, so UK businesses need to search further afi eld for customers. Those that are going to survive and thrive are the ones that recognise their potential is global, particularly in the emerging markets.” The winner of the 2010 HSBC Business Thinking Awards, Wow! Stuff has excelled overseas. President and CEO Richard North says: “Our international growth has exceeded our wildest expectations and our ‘well thought out’ business plan. Twelve months on from our win at Business Thinking we have taken our international sales from two to 50 per cent of revenue, and we forecast 80 per cent of our sales will be international by 2014.” Other banks are also getting involved. In November 2011, as part of Santander’s SME Breakthrough Programme, 10 UK fi rms travelled to Brazil on a trade mission to establish new international trading relationships.
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