Dear Members and Friends,
A shorter newsletter in a short week. As usual, below my sign-off, there is a compendium of the upcoming events . International Development featured prominently with a very constructive engagement with a wide range of some 25 ID members brought together in our building to discuss and collate input into Cabinet Office review of the new Procurement Bill; this is a bill with widespread implications for the entire D and BEI memberships. You can read a brief summary here. Out and about we continue to engage in members' behalf with some impressive members of the diplomatic corps representing a range of BEI’s focus markets. We are picking up very clear messages about where it is felt that the U.K. realistically has world-class infrastructure capabilities and, in particular, the need for a coordinated, competitive skills and training offer, notably (but not only) around energy transition and technological innovation. Read Luisa’s summary of these discussions here. In 23 Grafton St, do take a listen here to Strategy Group’s monthly podcast giving us a tour of the key issues and outlook in the World’s major economies. I think it’s as useful a summary as you’ll find anywhere for those of us who don’t have time to absorb the FT and the Economist. It’s particularly focused on the global banking situation.
Enjoy the long weekend, hopefully the weather (definitely the chocolate).
Warm regards,
Peter O’Kane
Chairman
British Expertise International/Strategy International
Recordings of recent past events:
- Infrastructure Opportunities in Morocco - BEI hosted a fascinating session with UKEF and IFC on pipeline opportunities and projects available for UK businesses in Morocco.
- Global Victoria: Education Opportunities - BEI hosted a session with Global Victoria presenting on a range of education opportunities in the State on K12, skills and training, and education technology.
Key events coming up include the following:
- 12th April 2023 16:00-19:00 BST: Girls Education Challenge: Lessons Learnt - In-person panel event on the Girls’ Education Challenge, a 12-year FCDO flagship programme. We will be joined by the FCDO Girls’ Education Team as well as the alliance partners including Cambridge Education Mott MacDonald, Social Development Direct, PwC, Nathan Associates, and Tetra Tech.
- 13th April 2023 15:00-16:30 BST: Brazil - Opportunities in the Water Sector - Brazil has some of the highest water availability in the world, but is unfortunately hindered by outdated WASH infrastructure. There is a huge need to accelerate access to water and sanitation across the country. This session will showcase some of the exciting current opportunities for UK expertise across water infrastructure and technology.
- 18th April 2023 10:00-11:30 BST: Uzbekistan Infrastructure Opportunities - This virtual event will act as an opportunity for UK-based organisations and investors to learn about current infrastructure opportunities in Uzbekistan. British Expertise International is delighted to be joined by the Embassy of Uzbekistan in the UK, the UK Department for Business and Trade and UK Export Finance for the latest overview of the pipeline of opportunities in the country, and the support available to British companies.
- 18th April 2023 16:00-18:00 BST: Roundtable with Mark Garnier, UK’s Trade Envoy to Viet Nam - Join us for an in-person roundtable with Mark Garnier, the United Kingdom’s Trade Envoy to Viet Nam who will provide members with his vision for Viet Nam as the newly appointed Trade Envoy. BEI members will also have the opportunity to share with Mark their business perspectives on Viet Nam.
- 19th April 2023 16:00-18:30 BST: In conversation with Andrew Dunnett - In-person roundtable meeting with Andrew Dunnett, Group Director of ESG, Sustainable Business and Foundations at Vodafone. Andrew will lead a discussion on the importance of ESG and private sector’s role in implementing impactful ESG programmes.
- 20th April 2023 15:00-16:30 BST: Understanding Climate Risks - Our panel will discuss the transformation of climate risk into financial risk for business, as well as the thought processes utilised by financiers in selecting what organisations and projects to finance based on how they analyse their risk portfolio.
- 25th April 2023 15:00-16:30 BST: Making Climate Change Programming More Inclusive - We are delighted to have a panel including speakers from Options, Palladium, Social Development Direct and Sightsavers to speak about how their organisations are making climate change programming more inclusive. They will share insights from various projects, programmes and frameworks relating to biodiversity, health, disability and how they’re making a positive change in these areas.
- 26th April 2023 13:30-15:30 BST: Roundtable with Mark Eastwood, UK’s Trade Envoy to Pakistan - Mark Eastwood, the United Kingdom’s Trade Envoy to Pakistan who will speak to the subject of Government-to-Government discussions between the UK and Pakistan on infrastructure, renewables, and education, and will provide members with an update on the current trade dialogue between the two countries.
- 27th April 2023 11:00-14:00 BST: Donor Clinic: Doing business with USAID, in partnership with Konektid International - In-person donor clinic workshop on Doing Business with USAID, in partnership with Konektid International. Mike Shanley, CEO of Konektid International will share best practices on growing your organisations’ work with USAID, funding opportunities and tips for navigating the procurement process, as well as changes to USAID funding following the New Partnerships Initiative and Biden Administration.
- 11th May 2023 15:00-16:30 BST: Strengthening Resilience against Shocks and Stressors in LMICs: A 3ie Evidence Gap Map and Report - In a time where the effects of climate change, human-made disasters, and recurring crisis are contributing to multifaceted and complex emergencies globally, one of the key tools to mitigate these impacts is resilience. Join us as we launch 3ie’s latest Evidence Gap Map report, focused on strengthening resilience against these shocks and stresses in L&MICs!
- 16th May 2023 10:00-11:30 BST: The Social Impacts of Energy Transition in Africa - This event will examine some of the social impacts of energy transition on the African continent. We will hear from our panel on their experience of what they are already seeing on the ground in markets that have seen the swiftest transition to renewable energy sources and discuss the potential future in terms of where our panel see the energy transition bringing the greatest societal benefits – and challenges – in the short and longer term.
- 16th May 2023 15:00-16:30 BST: Peru infrastructure pipeline with ProInversión - We are pleased to welcome Peru’s promotion agency, ProInversión, who will provide an overview of the latest infrastructure pipeline including projects in energy, highways and water treatment plans. ProInversión is a specialized technical agency, attached to the Ministry of Economy and Finance, with legal status under public law, technical, functional, administrative, economic and financial autonomy.
- 18th May 2023 12:30-14:30 BST: Meet the Trade Envoy for Bangladesh, Rushanara Ali - Rushanara Ali MP. Rushanara will provide members with an overview of the future developments and market priorities in Bangladesh, as well as upcoming Government-to-Government plans and future engagements between the UK and Bangladesh which may be of interest.
- 31st May 2023 16:00-19:30 BST: Road Freight Decarbonisation in Latin America - Join us as we delve into the current challenges and opportunities for decarbonising road freight globally, with a focus on the Latin American region. We will explore solutions and decarbonisation roadmaps in Latin American countries and the potential for UK stakeholders to collaborate and transfer knowledge, experiences and capacities to contribute to the decarbonisation of road freight in the region.
- 4th July 2023 12:00-15:00 BST: Roundtable with Nick Dyer, Director General, Humanitarian and Development - Join us for an in-person roundtable with Nick Dyer, Director General, Humanitarian and Development. Nick will provide an overview of the UK’s International Development Strategy (IDS) and address the key priorities for the UK in delivering humanitarian aid.
For an overview of our planned events for the early part of the year, you can see a useful infographic here: BEI Winter/Spring Events Programme 2023
Register for an upcoming event →
External Events
- July 2023: HP and Cambridge Partnership for Education, part of Cambridge University Press & Assessment, are inviting policy leaders focused on Sub-Saharan African countries to apply for the inaugural cohort of a new Fellowship designed to accelerate effective digital transformation in education systems. This seven-month blended learning programme – including a four-day residential module at the University of Cambridge – is designed to build skills in Education Technology (EdTech), policy, and leadership to empower leaders to build and lead coalitions for change. It will develop a network of leaders across the region and beyond focused on using EdTech more effectively so that millions of children in their countries can realise their potential. There are fully funded scholarships available. Find out more and apply: https://www.edtechfellowship.deficambridge.org/
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