UK government opens record industry conference to kickstart SME Exports
The UK government is hosting one of its largest ever export conferences, with around 1,000 business leaders attending today’s UK Trade and Export Finance Forum to discuss ways of reducing financial barriers to exporting.
Hosted in London by UK Export Finance (UKEF), the event welcomes speakers from the CBI, British Chambers of Commerce and Invest in Women Taskforce. Workshops will discuss overseas opportunities and how government and private sector can collaborate to help a wider range of businesses to export.
UKEF is a government department which helps businesses to export by offering financing guarantees and insurance – support which helps companies to fill their order-books, invest in growth and create wealth. The event comes a week after the Chancellor pledged to kick-start economic growth across the country as part of this government’s Plan for Change.
In the 2023-24 financial year, UKEF backing for businesses contributed £3.3 billion to the UK economy and supported up to 41,000 jobs across the country.
UKEF can also now reveal that in 2024, its work secured export deals to 45 territories, increasing the availability of overseas contract opportunities for British businesses.
A majority of businesses seeking UKEF support and attending the conference are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Export finance support complements other actions which the government is taking to support SMEs, like measures tackling the scourge of late payments, the launch of a Business Growth Service, and trade agreements generating new opportunities.
Gareth Thomas, minister for Exports, said: “UKEF plays a key part in this government’s central mission to go further and faster to deliver economic growth across the country. Their support has led to projects in dozens of countries around the world, supporting jobs, boosting wages and increased investment into the UK.
“Supporting small firms and supercharging exports are at the very core of that growth mission, because we know that when more SMEs trade around the world, it boosts the whole economy.”
The conference also falls ahead of the government’s Industrial Strategy, a plan for supporting investment into high-growth sectors which is expected to launch in spring 2025. This will be supported by UKEF’s own vision for supporting more SMEs and facilitating £10bn in financing for clean-growth exports by 2029 – a vision furthered by the chancellor’s recent launch of export finance support for projects supplying critical minerals to UK industry.
Shevaun Haviland, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “If the UK wants to grow its economy, then we need to export more. The maths on this is really very simple. If we export more than we import, then trade contributes to economic growth, productivity rises, and wages and investment are pushed up – creating a virtuous circle.
“Our experience has also taught us that firms that export are more resilient, innovative and grow faster. Support for our SME exporters and encouragement to help them start selling overseas is vital to making this happen, and UKEF has a key role to play.”
Jordan Cummins, director (UK Competitiveness), CBI, said: “To be a key player in the global race for growth, the UK needs a bold and ambitious Trade Strategy.
“As business continues to navigate changing global dynamics, persistent economic headwinds, and geopolitical uncertainty, intervention is needed from government to enable firms to capture the growth prizes on offer. Doing so will ensure the UK is positioned as one of the world’s best locations for investment and trade.”
Record interest in the government event follows growth in the range of businesses seeking UKEF support. Since launching the event in 2018, UKEF has seen a significant rise in the number of retail and wholesale exporters supported, particularly in food & drink, beauty & healthcare, furniture, homeware and interior design.