Dear Members and Friends,
This week we were delighted to host UK Department for International Trade Export Minister, Graham Stuart, who highlighted his priorities in supporting the growth of UK exports. It was acknowledged that exceptional ‘know-how’ in technology and innovation coupled with outstanding project management are the key differentiators for the UK infrastructure sector globally. The Minister reinforced his commitment to ensuring that government actively support the private sector in creating opportunities that will help UK plc win business.
The Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) also hosted a Supplier Engagement event on Tuesday 23 February, covering policy updates on the Cabinet Office Green Paper: Transforming Public Procurement consultation; the new Social Value Requirements, and the Modern Slavery Assessment Tool highlighting how participation can help suppliers to meet human rights requirements.
Whilst our members welcomed the opportunity to engage with FCDO and found the event useful and informative, many were disappointed that the looming aid cuts — a subject at the forefront of their minds — was not on the agenda. There is broad recognition and understanding of the difficult decisions that the Government is taking in the face of the economic challenges resulting from the COVID pandemic. However, we would like to see the aid spending changes managed in a way that most effectively leverages delivery through UK expertise, ensures value for money for the taxpayer and minimises negative impacts on the UK’s unique development ecosystem.
Next week…
Join us on Thursday 4th March as we host a panel discussion with InfraCo Asia. Chief Executive Allard Nooy and his team will present their work in providing capital to develop early-stage infrastructure projects into viable investment opportunities. The presentation will also include insights on opportunities in delivering infrastructure expertise in their programmes.
A number of our working groups will be meeting, and look forward to member joining. If you have not received and invite and would like to join one of the groups, please email our Events Team. The Education Working Group will meet on Monday 1st March at 4.00pm. The Climate Change/Net Zero Working Group hosts its first full meeting on Wednesday 3rd March at 4.00pm. Finally the Safeguarding Leads Network meeting is scheduled for Thursday 4th March from 3.30pm
Future event highlights…
For your diaries, and open for registration — On Wednesday 17th March we look forward to learning from the British Council on the many Education Export Opportunities in Southeast Asia. The presenters will share insights into the latest government response to the COVID-19 crisis in the region and discuss opportunities for UK companies.
On Wednesday 31st March, the InfraCo Africa team will introduce their work in providing funding and expertise needed to develop infrastructure projects in Africa into viable investment opportunities. Join us to learn about leveraging opportunities to work with them and deliver pioneering infrastructure and how navigate through the procurement process.
With Best Wishes
Derrick
Derrick Sanyahumbi
Chief Executive Officer
British Expertise International
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Upcoming Events
The events below will be hosted via webinar. For any event registration support please contact Matthew Gibbons. Click on titles to access full event details. The full calendar of events can be viewed here and recently added event dates are highlighted with an asterisk*.
1st March, 2021 — BEI Education Working Group
4th March, 2021 — InfraCo Asia: Vision for the Future
10th March, 2021 — Infrastructure opportunities — India
11th March, 2021 — BEI Infrastructure Exports Working Group
17th March, 2021 — British Council — Education Export Opportunities in South East Asia
31st March, 2021* — InfraCo Africa
20th April, 2021 — Azerbaijan Deep-Dive
22nd April, 2021* — Kyrgyzstan Deep-Dive
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External News & Events
Two members of the Safeguarding Leads Network, Mott MacDonald and Justice Studio, presented their experience of implementing safeguarding at a webinar on Sharing Experiences in Responsible Safeguarding, Wednesday the 24th of February. The discussion particularly emphasized the need for survivor support and continuous efforts in promoting safeguarding in every area of involvement. To read more about their work and access the recording, follow this link.
1st — 4th March, 2021 — The DIT-LATAC Roadshow 2021 starts on Monday! The event will feature specialist sector-focused sessions and there will also be opportunities to book 1–2–1 meetings with DIT experts. Find out more, and register for this year’s Roadshow: https://bit.ly/36wG3tG
4th March, 2021 — The Secret to Mobilizing Funds for Agri SMEs. Agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa contributes to the economic development, employment, and food security of the continent. Improving the information flow between lenders and agriSMEs can help address this finance gap.
9th March, 2021 — Working with the EBRD in Central Asia: Spotlight on business opportunities in the energy and infrastructure sectors. The EBRD, with the support of AICEP* and Multilateral Working Group Portugal invites you to attend their event focusing on potential business opportunities in the Energy and Infrastructure sectors in selected countries in Central Asia. The webinar will offer an opportunity to gain insights from the EBRD experts who will provide an overview of the economic and business environment and discuss potential opportunities in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The event is open for all participants.
10th March — SBJBC workshop on Training Opportunities in Saudi Tourism, Sports & Entertainment Sector. Please have a look at our events page for full details on the workshop or click here to register your interest in participating.
15th — 19th March 2021 — the Connect.KG virtual conference that will bring together local and international startups, digital businesses, and IT industry specialists. https://connectkg.com/
6th- 9th April 2021 — Brazil — Embraer Virtual Technology Showcase. Embraer are designing a new regional aircraft and are looking for future technologies, such as batteries, hydrogen fuel cells, hydrogen fuel and connective manufacture through Industry 4.0. For more information, contact: alan.fisher@trade.gov.uk
21st and 22nd April, 2021 — Using Drones to Map Habitats. The UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology has a two-day interactive online course that will provide participants with the basic skills needed to take images collected from a UAV platform such as a quadcopter, process the images into a scene suitable for image processing, and generate classified images.
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