Dear Members and Friends,
Before reflecting on some very interesting, specific opportunities arising from this week’s events, a quick alert to members focusing on International Development. We have offered FCDO to host an informal reception here (23 Grafton Street) at 5.30–7pm on Tuesday, December 6th for visiting country heads/Directors of Development, many of whom are briefly in London next week. It is a good opportunity to replace on-camera with in-person contact, particularly in these more challenging times. Please RSVP to ab@britishexpertise.org if you would like to attend.
Back to the specific opportunities.
We were delighted to welcome BCDA, the organisation tasked with redeveloping the huge ex-US military bases near Manila in the Philippines, led by the delightful Aileen Zosa and accompanied by FCDO’s Cherrie Nuez. Several members are already active in-country and shared some interesting presentations with BCDA but clearly in the next few years there are a wide range of smart city/net zero-related opportunities across energy, transport and advanced buildings. We are, along with addressing other forthcoming opportunities in the Philippines, looking at taking a first quarter mission.
Moving to the Caribbean, the second Caribbean Development Bank webinar gave further shape to the CDB’s strategic priorities and procurement processes in Education, Social sector and Trade. CDB’s new vision focuses on driving innovation and knowledge creation as the primary means through which the Region can eliminate poverty, advance standards of living, and deliver equitable prosperity. UK strengths complement CDB’s existing pipeline presented during the event, ranging from education reform in Belize, hospitality and tourism training in Guyana and provision of technology hardware and institutional strengthening in Jamaica. For more information on specific opportunities available, the recording of the event is available to all our members on our website.
Looking forward into the year end there is a good run of country-specific events and year end gatherings of some of the working groups. Also, a timely reminder that the BEI year end reception is from 6pm in Grafton Street on the evening of December 15th. It is RSVP-only so please do send an acceptance if you have not already done so. It is a very good opportunity to network, make new contacts and find collaborative business opportunities.
In terms of forthcoming events, please see the following:
5th December: Doing Business with the UN and Multi-Lateral Development Banks. From 12.30pm to 4pm
Sandwich lunch and 1–1 Meetings. We will be hosting four key DIT leads who are responsible for helping to access UN and Multi-Lateral Development Bank procurement opportunities. There will be an exclusive opportunity for you to meet the guest speakers for an in-person one-to-one meeting, as they visit the UK. Join us from 12.30 for a light lunch, with 1–1 bookings available from 1pm. You can review a slide pack that supports these 1–1’s here. Please register here and contact Max to confirm your 1–1 slot(s).
7th December: Colombia — Market Opportunity Overview
Virtual event 14:00–15:30 GMT.
Join us as we host George Hodgson, His Majesty’s Ambassador to Colombia and his team to explore opportunities in Colombia for UK based businesses. After a long period of conflict, Colombia has emerged as a strong economy in its region. It has one of the largest populations and economies in Latin America.
7th December: BEI x BFPG Education Clinic
In-person event 11:30–13:00 GMT. BEI is delighted to announce the launch of their Clinics, a series of workshops in which we will look to explore the practicalities of working with donors, foundations, international organisations, and foreign policy affecting the British businesses.
8th December: Gabon — Market Opportunity Overview
Virtual event 10:00–11:00 GMT. Gabon has not been on the radar of many UK organisations to date, however now is a great time to learn about this market and explore opportunities that are expected to start coming down the line over the next few years. Specifically, Gabon is looking to the UK for expertise across education, skills development, climate resilience and adaptation, and regulatory reform.
13th December: Pakistan Education Deep Dive
Virtual event 10:00–11:30 GMT. Join us for a deep dive into the education opportunities in Pakistan led by the Department for International Trade, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, and British Council where representatives from each respective organisation will provide us with an insight into the key education priorities for UK plc looking to do business in Pakistan.
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
22nd November: Doing Business with CABEI
Virtual event 15:00–16:30 GMT. Recording Available Here.
22nd November: An ESG Masterclass — The Why, The What And The How
In person panel event and networking reception. 16:30 for 17:00–19:30 GMT. Slides Available Here.
24th November: Doing Business with the Caribbean Development Bank — Session one: Infrastructure, Energy and Environment
Virtual event 15:00–16:30 GMT. Recording and Slides available here.
29th November: Roundtable with inbound Philippines delegation: ‘New Clark City Investment Roadshow and Study Visit’
In-person event 13:00 for 14:00–15:30 GMT. Slides available here.
29th November: Doing Business with the Caribbean Development Bank — Session Two: Education, Social, Trade and Governance
Virtual event 15:00–16:30 GMT. Recording is available here.
Upcoming external events
7th December: 09:00-11:00 GMT. Ukraine’s economy: stabilisation, rebuilding and the role of the EBRD. Available to watch live on EBRD’s social media channels, including LinkedIn and EBRD.com. More information can be found via this link.
8th December: 09:00-10:35 GMT. Webinar. Export Opportunities in Brunei, Cambodia, and Laos. Register here.
8-9th December: Bishkek Investment Summit. Further information can be found via this link.
12-13th December: Annual Chile Day conference. Please use this link to register. Monday 12th December, Infrastructure Financing Panel from 11:45-13:00 GMT & Tuesday 13th December, Roundtable on Infrastructure with Minister Marcel from 10:00-11:00 GMT.
13 December 2022 from 9.00-10.30 GMT. Introduction to the United Nations Global Market Place (UNGM).
The United Nations Global Marketplace (UNGM) is the official procurement portal of the United Nations System. The UNGM portal brings together UN procurement staff and suppliers interested in doing business with the United Nations.Further information and registration can be found here.
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)
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