Dec 16, 2022

BEI Weekly Update — 16th December 2022

by

Peter O’Kane

by

Dear Members and Friends,

This will be the last Weekly Update before the Christmas Break. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your active engagement across the last 12 months. In total, BEI has stage over 110 events — across both virtual and in person formats. We have been delighted to welcome many of you in person again and would also thank all our stakeholders and speakers for their contributions to a great year. You can see a copy of all the events held this year in our annual Strategy International Yearbook.

As we head into 2023, we have a strong programme lining up. We will continue to focus on specific opportunities across our core themes of Infrastructure/Climate Change and Education/Skills. We will be exploring themes like Water in more detail, whilst continuing to identify market specific opportunities across a wide range of geographies. In Education/Skills, we will be engaging with key stakeholders and Ministries of Education, as well as exploring the UK’s offering in Skills though our working group and associated events. In International Development, we will continue to explore the priorities across FCDO and in specific countries, whilst also driving up our engagement with a wider set of potential partners and funders.

Heading into January, we are delighted to have a strong set of events already scheduled

12th January 2023 10.00–11.30 GMT: Cameroon Market Opportunity Overview
Join us on 12th January as we welcome Dr Christian Dennys-McClure, the High Commissioner and his team. They will focus on insights into current opportunities in this market, including a special focus on the infrastructure sector — particularly roads, port development, energy capacity and renewables.

17th January 2023 09:30–11:00 GMT: FCDO Malawi: Development Priorities
Join us as we host Olympia Wereko-Brobby, the Development Director in Malawi for the FCDO who will present the Government’s development priorities and programming for the country.

Located in Southern Africa, Malawi borders Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania, is landlocked and hosts a population of 19.6 million (World Bank). The country ranks 171 out of 189 in the Human Development Index, with 70% of the population living below the poverty line.

17th January 2023 15.00–16.30 GMT: Peru Bilateral Trade Review — Infrastructure Workshop
British Expertise International, in partnership with OCO Global, is delighted to host an online workshop focusing on business opportunities in Peru for British exporters of services in the Infrastructure Sector. Participants will be asked to discuss opportunities for UK companies and explore how they can be developed and what support might be needed.

19th January 2023 09:30–11:00 GMT: Doing Business in the State of Victoria
Join us at British Expertise International’s offices on Thursday 19th January 2023 as we host an in-person event and reception with Tim Dillon, Agent General for Victoria to the United Kingdom and Commissioner for Victoria to Europe and Israel, for a session on doing business and sectoral opportunities in the state of Victoria, Australia. Please arrive from 16:00 for a 16:30 start. This will be followed by a networking reception from 18:00–19:30.

24th January 2023 09:00–10:30 GMT: Indonesia Education Deep Dive (save the date)

1st February 2023 10.00–11:30 GMT: Senegal Infrastructure Opportunities
Join us for a virtual session with Ms. Juliette John, HM Ambassador to Senegal and team. They will be exploring infrastructure opportunities in Senegal. There are current opportunities for UK expertise on roads (toll roads, bridges), rail, and port development. There is a need for solar and wind renewable energy development for energy security and to increase grid stability at a national level.

Finally, we were delighted to welcome members who braved the combined challenges of weather and strike action to join us at our annual BEI reception on Thursday evening. I would like to thank them for coming, and at the same time wish you all the very best for the festive season. 2022 has certainly been a year of significant challenges both globally and here in the UK. Let’s hope in 2023 that the world emerges from the period of geo-political and economic instability we have seen recently. We look forward to seeing you all again in the New Year.

Very Best Wishes

Peter O’Kane
Chairman
British Expertise International/Strategy International

Summary of events held in the last two weeks

Which feature links to meetings slides / recordings

7th December: Colombia — Market Opportunity Overview
Virtual event 14:00–15:30 GMT. Recording and slides available here.

8th December: Gabon — Market Opportunity Overview
Virtual event 10:00–11:00 GMT. Recording and slides available here.

13th December: Pakistan Education Deep Dive
Virtual event 10:00–11:30 GMT. Recording available here.

Upcoming external events

20 & 21st February 2023 - Teacher Training Mission to Malaysia: The UK Department for International Trade (DIT) will lead a UK trade mission focusing on K-12 Teacher Training opportunities. The aim of the mission is to connect teacher training providers/specialists, government officials and education institutions leaders to learn about the latest thinking and innovations on the Teacher Training Education. For more information, please contact Husna Hamimi Hashim on husna.hashim@fcdo.gov.uk

UN International Procurement Seminar, Copenhagen, 7-8 March 2023
This event will be hosted in collaboration with UN staff, it will also include an introduction to our UN International Procurement Seminar (UN IPS) on 7-8 March 2023 at the UN City in Copenhagen and the registration process. UNGM registration is required to participate in the UN IPS and request 1-2-1 meetings with UN Procurement officers. If your company is already registered on the UNGM, it is possible to already express an interest in participating on the link below (this expression is not a formal offer/acceptance). UN International Procurement Seminar, Copenhagen, 7-8 March 2023 (ungm.org)