Published: January 17th, 2018
Businesses from across the West Midlands have the chance to explore global export opportunities at a major, free event in Birmingham next month.
New Year, New Markets will see trade specialists from more than 20 countries and networks representing more than 40 countries attending the event at the ICC on Friday, February 9.
Organised by the Department for International Trade (DIT), the trade event is open to all small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) based in the West Midlands region – from experienced exporters looking to expand their global reach to those that have never traded outside of the UK before.
Andy Smith, International Relationships Manager for DIT West Midlands, said it was a rare opportunity for businesses to meet specialists from so many markets in a single day, to join interactive market seminars and learn of real time export opportunities across the world.
"Getting so many experts under one roof at the same time is a fantastic opportunity for ambitious SMEs based in the West Midlands," he said. "They’ll be able to target specific markets by setting up one-to-one meetings, browse in our expo zone to see if there are potential leads in markets they’d not thought of before and gain valuable insights into the global outlook for their sector.
"It’s open to any SME across all sectors – it doesn’t matter if it’s a very small business offering a niche service and wants to test the overseas market or an established company that is already trading globally."
Experts from Africa, South East Asia and Central Europe, the Balkans and Scandinavia will join trade advisers from Western Europe and countries such as USA, Canada, UAE, China and India at the event.
Tim Buisseret, Head of DIT Bulgaria, said: "This is a great opportunity for businesses to speak to us about the potential in Central & Eastern Europe. CEE offers fast growing market opportunities, with rising disposable incomes and over €100 billion in EU investments, all within a three-hour flight of the UK. We are looking forward to exploring how we can benefit from the expertise in the West Midlands."
Emma Wade-Smith, UK Trade Commissioner for Africa, added: "The young, dynamic and fast-growing population of Africa presents enormous business opportunity. The UK is already a major investor and trading partner with Africa, from traditional sectors such as infrastructure, mining and oil & gas through to other areas of UK expertise such as education, healthcare and services. Whatever your company does, you can do good business in Africa and we want to help you grow your business, too."
The event will also feature an Expo Zone, where visitors can learn more about each market and the DIT Hub will enable businesses to connect to local advisers.
To register for the event and to book a one-to-one meeting with a trade adviser, visit www.newyearnewmarkets.co.uk
The event is organised by the Department for International Trade West Midlands and is funded through its EU co-financed International Growth Project.
