Nov 24, 2023

BEI Weekly Update - 24th November 2023

by

David Landsman

by

Dear Members and Friends,

With the publication of the International Development White Paper, this has been an important week for BEI. It’s a substantial document with much that merits detailed study. Our sister organisation, BFPG, held an event the day after publication to share initial impressions: you can watch the event here and read a blog by Evie Aspinall, BFPG Director and Luisa Edves, BEI Director of Education, Skills & International Development, focusing on implications for the sector, here. While (unsurprisingly) there was nothing to offer hope of additional funding, there was much to engage the international development community, particularly the more clearly articulated emphasis on partnerships and respectful engagement, the focus on the least developed countries and the continued emphasis both on women and girls and on climate. Regardless of whatever 2024 brings in terms of domestic politics, there seems to be a broadly agreed sense of direction here which should allow the sector a much-needed opportunity for some longer term planning.

We hosted two other sessions this week. On Wednesday, we covered Profit Repatriation in African Markets. This is clearly of interest to our members, of whom over 50 attended, contributing to a lively Q&A session.

On Thursday, we hosted a presentation of the ASEAN-UK Supporting Advancement of Girls Education (SAGE) framework, led by Ewan Macrae, Interim Technical Lead at the British Council. Ewan spoke on this 5-year FCDO-funded programme and explained the plans for the next phases of the programme.

We have one event next Wednesday. Following last year’s session with representatives of the UN, we are grateful to DBT for agreeing to present next week on “How to do business with the UN”, explaining UN procurement and the opportunities available for UK companies. There will also be the opportunity to book 1-2-1 meetings with the DBT UN experts based in Copenhagen (Joanne Ganthier, Senior Trade Advisor), Geneva (Marie Gow, Senior Trade Advisor) and New York (Ashley Halloran, Trade and Investment Officer). Please book the one-to-ones with Max, our Programmes & Events Manager at max@britishexpertise.org.

While our programme continues at pace, attention for all inevitably begins to turn to the end of the year, whether that’s budgets or just the prospect of holidays ahead. We look forward to seeing you soon.

With best wishes for the weekend,

David Landsman

Executive Chairman

British Expertise International

Recordings of recent past events:‍

2nd November - Resolving Trade Barriers in Eastern Europe & Central Asia‍
6th November - Azerbaijan: Market Opportunity Overview‍
8th November - FCDO Development Director: Rwanda
14th November - FCDO Development Director Series: Bangladesh.
16th November - BII - Climate Strategy Review
22nd November - Profit Repatriation in African Markets
23rd November - ASEAN-UK Supporting the Advancement of Girls’ Education (ASEAN-UK SAGE) Framework Presentation

Key events coming up include the following:

29th November 9.00 - 12.00 GMT: UN Roadshow, led by the Department for Business and Trade - We are delighted to host the UN Procurement Roadshow with Department for Business & Trade (DBT) on 29th November 2023 from 9.00 – 12.00 GMT. Colleagues from DBT will present on the topic of ‘How To Do Business with the UN’, providing an introduction to UN Procurement and the opportunities available for UK companies. There will also be the opportunity to book 1-2-1 meetings with the DBT UN experts based in Copenhagen, Geneva and New York.‍
12th December 2023 09:00-10:00 GMT: FCDO Development Director Series: Syria - Join us as we host Peter McDermot, the Development Director in Syria for the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) who will present FCDO’s development strategy, programming and pipeline of opportunities in Syria.
10th January 3:30 - 5:00 p.m GMT: Safeguarding Panel - Join us for a webinar discussion with representatives from FCDO, DAI Global and Social Development Direct on the topic of safeguarding. This event will be opened by Peter Taylor, Head of Safeguarding Unit, FCDO, who will offer remarks on CAPSEAH. The panel will provide an overview of the best practices in implementing safeguarding through all aspects of operations and programming, as well as addressing the challenges of implementation.
1st February 2024 09:30- 10:30 GMT: Skills and Training WG: Standards - Join us for our quarterly in-person Skills & Training Working Group with presentation from the British Standards Institution (BSI) and Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) on the topic of Standards. The discussion will provide an overview of standards and the importance of standards education, followed by insights into the importance of accepted standards in the education sector, and the challenges and steps involved in developing them.

Register for an upcoming event →

External Events

‍28th-29th November 2023 - The Uzbek-British Trade and Industry Council (UBTIC) is an annual forum designed to connect British businesses with their Uzbek counterparts and leading policy makers. This year the event will take place across London, with sectoral sessions focussed on IPO and Eurobonds, Infrastructure, Financial & Professional Services, Investment and Trade potential of Uzbekistan, Fintech and IT opportunities of Uzbekistan, followed by the Business Forum.
7th December 2023 - WEBINAR: UK - Nigeria Aviation Forum - The UK’s Department for Business & Trade (DBT) Nigeria, in partnership with the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) and the International Centre for Protocol & Diplomacy (ICPD) cordially invites you to learn about Nigeria’s Aviation opportunities.