International Trade International Trade


T: 0121 725 8994 E: ibh@birmingham-chamber.com


Innovate UK launch


support packages The Government’s innovation agency, Innovate UK (IUK), has launched a package of support measures to help businesses involved in research and development survive the Covid-19 crisis. The support package is being delivered


through the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) and is aimed at small to medium enterprises already being supported and advised by an EEN innovation and growth adviser. The package will


include financial and other support, and is aimed at helping businesses survive, stabilise and grow.


Rupi Nandra (pictured), head of


international programmes at the Chamber, said the support being offered would first of all help companies to address short-term challenges, both to survive and then grow. The next stage would be to build


resilience in target companies, through a number of business modelling mechanisms, supported by plans for eventual growth. Ms Nandra said: "Ultimately the package


of support is to assist innovative businesses to reposition and realign for the current situation but to create agility to respond and stabilise as the economy eventually looks to recover. “EEN advisers will support businesses to


create a strategy around resilience which will be paramount for economic recovery and eventually business growth."


Contact the EEN team at een@birmingham-chamber.com for further information.


Former airport manager joins international team


Stefanie Bowes has joined the Chamber as international business manager. She has moved from Birmingham Airport, where she was travel trade and corporate relationship manager. In her new role, she will be reunited with


international director Mandy Haque, as both worked together at the airport for six years. In fact, it was Mandy who first recruited


Stefanie to the airport. She joined after a varied career in both the aviation and healthcare sectors. Her early career was spent at BMI and BMI Baby as a member of the cabin crew, and she also worked for Lloyds Pharmacy, as assistant to the contracts manager, supporting new business tenders and Virgin Care, where her role was to establish new GP practices, in the Midlands and the South. At Birmingham Airport, her role was to build


relationships with airlines, travel agents and tourism operators, in order to build up passenger numbers. She also became involved in various tourism


initiatives to increase the number of visitors to the Midlands. She has a strong track record of working with tourism partners such as West Midlands Growth Company and also sat on the board for Shakespeare’s England. Stefanie said that she would be putting her


contacts in the aviation and travel sectors and her knowledge of these industries to good use at the Chamber, in order to help exporters and also other members of the international team. She said: “I am thrilled to be starting work at


the Chamber, I am looking forward to working closely again with Mandy Haque and the international team. “I can’t wait to get started and engage with


the businesses already within the region with an international reach.”


Games webinar drives traffic


The Chamber’s first ever webinar on opportunities arising from the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games attracted a bumper audience. More than 100 people tuned in to the webinar


to find out about tender opportunities both for the event itself and also the build-up to it. The event was hosted by the Chamber’s


international director Mandy Haque and featured David Grady, the chief financial officer of the Commonwealth Games organising committee. Attendees heard that procurement for the


Games had continued to progress normally, despite the Covid-19 crisis gripping the country. Also, Mr Grady advised that deadlines for


some contracts were fast approaching, and businesses interested in these should formalise their approach to the organisers without delay. Certain contracts are to be opened for tender


32 CHAMBERLINK June/July 2020


imminently, including those for the provision of various sectors, such as sport equipment, transport fleet cars, logistics and technical equipment. Mandy Haque said: “This is definitely a subject


that attracts a lot of interest among our members and the business community in this region. “Attendees came from a variety of sectors and


community groups to hear the update. It was the first webinar update and it was well attended with some great questions coming in so we agreed we would deliver another one together in the future. “There will soon be a spike in procurement


activity for the Commonwealth games and various sectors are being tendered in the middle of this year, which businesses need to be aware of.”


The webinar was the follow up to the event Mandy Haque said: “I am so pleased to


welcome Stefanie to the international team, where I know that her experience and knowledge from previous roles will prove invaluable as we take the international department at the Chamber to the next level. “Stefanie will be integral to the vision I have of bringing in new initiatives that add value to our membership base as well as providing additional assistance to facilitate existing international trade support to the business community. Chamber chief executive Paul Faulkner added:


“I am delighted to have Stefanie join us and this appointment demonstrates our focus on and commitment to helping businesses trade internationally.”


Cultural advice on doing business abroad


The Department for International Trade is organising a number of cultural webinars, to help exporters meet the challenge of doing business with a different country. The webinars will cover Germany, India


and the Middle East, and will be led by communications and culture adviser Gerti Willis. The webinars will include looking at the challenges and solutions involved, understanding common pitfalls, and the business communication and negotiation styles involved. The Germany webinar is on 9 June,


followed by India on 17 June, and Middle East on 23 June.


Stefanie Bowes: New role


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