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International Trade Business Hub


A flagship event promoting innovation has been held at the National Exhibition Centre. The event – Innovate 2017 – was used to officially launch an innovation loans scheme. This will see a £50m pilot programme take place during the next two years, with the aim of helping bring innovations that are near to reality to the marketplace. Small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) will


be able to apply for loans of up to £1m to work on late-stage research and development projects. Innovate 2017 also focused on robotics and


artificial intelligence (AI). Claire Perry, Minister of State for Climate Change and Industry, was at the conference to outline how Britain was a world leader in these areas, which are being harnessed by the energy industry among others. Mrs Perry also launched a £68m from the


government’s Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund that will go to robotics and AI projects aimed at improving safety in extreme environments. This includes systems that are used in the oceans, nuclear energy, deep mining and space. The event also featured a panel including Phil Smith, non-executive chairman of Innovate UK


Innovation race: Rupi Nandra


‘The city is poised to be one of the leading regions in the innovation race’


and chairman of tech giant Cisco: Professor Noel Sharkey, University of Sheffield; Lord Battacharyya, chairman of Warwick Manufacturing Group; Hamid Mughal, global director of manufacturing, Rolls-Royce; and


Conference explores Pakistan opportunities


Greater Birmingham businesses interested in finding out more about trade opportunities with Pakistan are invited to attend a major conference organised by the Rawalpindi Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The event is being supported by


Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and will take place at the Hyatt Regency in Birmingham on 12 December. Pakistan is the 33rd largest


country in the world and the sixth most populous, with a population exceeding 200 million people. It is also has the 66th largest export economy. Major trading items include


textiles, pharmaceuticals and surgical equipment, ICT and leather. The UK, United States, China, Germany and Afghanistan are among Pakistan’s top export destinations, with major exports including house linens, rice, non-retail pure cotton yarn, non-knit men’s suits and pure woven cotton. Rupi Nandra, head of


International Programmes at Greater Birmingham Chambers, said: “Because of our historical and commercial ties, many Pakistani


businesses see the UK as their country of choice to do business with, and with the long standing trading links there seems to be good opportunities in all areas – goods, services, and technology transfer and collaboration, as well as FDI in both directions. “We visited Rawalpindi Chamber


about 10 years ago when we explored bilateral trade opportunities, so it will be good re- establish these links. “The Trade Conference provides


the perfect opportunity to do this both for the two Chambers and to build and establish business to business links and opportunities.” The Pakistan-UK Trade


conference will feature briefings from Greater Birmingham and Rawalpindi Chambers and the Pakistan government’s Board of Investment. There will also be B2B meeting opportunities.


For more information on this event, contact Rupi Nandra on 0121 607 0106 or r.nandra@birmingham- chamber.com


December 2017/January 2018 CHAMBERLINK 25


T: 0121 450 4205 E: ibh@birmingham-chamber.com


Innovation on show in Birmingham


Tabitha Goldstaub, co-founder, CognitionX, which is an information resource for AI. The UK’s innovation agency, Innovate UK,


works with people, companies and partner organisations to find and drive the science and technology innovations that will grow the UK economy. The organisation, which is sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, in turn part funds Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) (together with the European Commission). In this way, the EEN is seen as part of the


Innovate UK ‘family’ and plays an important role for the organisation through its access and reach across more than 600 offices in some 56 countries. EEN international projects manager Rupi


Nandra said: “This is the first time Birmingham has had the opportunity to host the UK’s leading innovation conference which helps to highlight the region on a global stage both to businesses and investors. “Birmingham lies at the heart of a £110bn


regional economy and is a powerhouse for the life sciences industry. The city is poised to be one of the leading regions in the innovation race.”


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