Oct 9, 2026

BEI Weekly Update - 9th October 2026

by

David Landsman

by

Dear Members and Friends,

This week I have been at the Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham and chaired a couple of panels on behalf of the British Foreign Policy Group. As with Labour the week before, the UK’s place in the world - diplomacy, defence, development and soft power - received a good deal of attention both on the main stage and in the fringe events. Each party has its own approach and priorities and those of us involved in the international space in one way or another have plenty of opportunity to add our insights to the debate which in some ways has reopened after a period of greater consensus. Look out for a few blogs on the Conservative Party’s position and two panels on the BFPG website in the coming days, complementing the team’s work with the Labour Party, to provide an understanding of foreign policy priorities across party lines.

Meanwhile, another fringe event I attended in Birmingham focused on how the UK can increase its exports. There was a sense that our performance did not reflect our potential and that too few businesses were ready to try new markets or to export at all. BEI members are, by definition, active internationally but we are always keen to help them - and new exporters - to grow. I’d be very interested to hear your views on what more the UK - and BEI in particular - could do to support this effort.

Our first event this week took place in Glasgow, Scotland, on the margins of the IWA World Water Congress. "Financing Water's Journey to Bankability” was a timely discussion on enabling finance for water projects, with our panel approaching the topic from a diverse set of perspectives including systems change, delivery and policy. They also discussed what a framework for successfully delivering water projects might look like and the importance of data as an investable asset. Many thanks to those who attended and especially to our speakers: Martin Woolhead, Deputy Director, Water Infrastructure Delivery at DEFRA; Joe Lorimer, Director at Lorimer Advisory; Doogie Black, CEO at Climate Sense; and Rob Fuller, Utility Lead at WaterAid.

Also in Scotland this week, The D Group and BFPG took a look at Scotland’s role in National Security and Resilience, covering political and geopolitical perspectives, governance, the defence industry and skills as well as Scotland’s special contribution to the Space sector.In London this week, we explored Social and Emotional Learning with speakers Leslee Udwin, Founder and Executive Chair at Think Equal; Claudia Bickford-Smith, CEO at Aldates Global Education; and Neil Leitch, CEO at Early Years Alliance. The discussion explored the thesis that, just as we teach children to read and write, equipping them with the skills to develop empathy, emotional intelligence, and the ability to build inclusive and respectful societies is also crucial to their development and society as a whole.

Our final event of the week was a Market Opportunity Overview on the Dominican Republic, designed to help UK organisations that wish to deepen their understanding of the Dominican Republic and explore partnership opportunities in the region. Many thanks to our partners at UK Export Finance, Prodominicana, the British Chamber of Commerce in the Dominican Republic, the Roundtable of Commonwealth Countries in the Dominican Republic, and Mott MacDonald for sharing expert insights.

Looking ahead to next week, we have two events on Monday, 12 October. First, from 09:30-13:00, we will host an in-person roundtable exploring investment opportunities in Ghana, a few days before the 2026 Ghana Investor Day. Our previous events with representatives of Ghana have attracted a strong attendance: do take a look at the full agenda, which you can find on our website, here.

Also on Monday from 15:30-17:00, we are looking forward to hosting Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of the Center for Civil Liberties and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, for an event in collaboration with Insulate Ukraine that examines resilience and reconstruction efforts across the country. There is still some availability – click here to register.

On Tuesday 13October from 14:00-15:00 BST, we will hold a webinar deep dive into education opportunities in Azerbaijan in collaboration with the Embassy of Azerbaijan. The session will cover key education sector opportunities for British businesses, offer advice on cultural understanding, and share tips for navigating the Azerbaijani market. If you are interested in joining, click here.

I also wanted to highlight the Inter-American Development Bank’s upcoming Roadshow in London on Tuesday 20 October, which BEI is pleased to support. This full-day roadshow will offer an opportunity to engage directly with the IDB Invest senior leadership and key stakeholders from the United Kingdom and Latin America and the Caribbean. If you are interested in registering, click here.

Keeping our focus on LATAM, on 15 October the British Embassy in Brazil and IDB will host a webinar titled “Eco Invest Mission to London: Connecting Investments, Innovation and Opportunities under Eco Invest 5”. The webinar will present opportunities for collaboration between British and Brazilian organisations in research, development and innovation under Eco Invest 5 and explain how organisations can take part in the trade mission to London in December. You can register here.

Finally, I hope you will take a moment to look at the first in a new series of publications entitled “Joining the Dots”, which seeks to distil important lessons from a diverse range of recent BEI activities. While we cover a wide range of sectors and geographies, often working with British and international partners, it can be useful to pick out some common threads so that we can learn from the experience of each other. In this edition, we connect the dots on multilateralism, regional shifts in demand, and geopolitics as they have emerged in our recent our programme. Please do take a read here.

With best wishes for the weekend,

David Landsman

Executive Chair

British Expertise International

Upcoming BEI Events:

Monday 12th October 2026 09:30 – 13:00 BST: Investment Opportunities Roundtable: Ghana - Join us for an investment opportunity roundtable exploring Ghana, just a few days ahead of the 2026 Ghana Investor Day.
Monday 12th October 2026 15:30 – 17:00 BST: Resilience, Rights, and Reconstruction in Ukraine - BEI are delighted to host Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of the Center for Civil Liberties, for an event held in collaboration with Insulate Ukraine that examines resilience and reconstruction efforts across the country.
Tuesday 13th October 2026 14:00 – 15:00 BST: Azerbaijan - Education Deep Dive - Join us for a webinar deep dive into education opportunities in Azerbaijan, in collaboration with the Embassy of Azerbaijan in the United Kingdom.
Tuesday 20th October 2026 08:00 – 18:00 BST: IDB Roadshow: From the UK to Latin America and the Caribbean: Unlocking Growth Opportunities with IDB Invest - Join IDB Invest, part of the Inter-American Development Bank Group, for a full-day roadshow event to unlock growth opportunities across the UK, Latin America and the Caribbean. The event will provide an opportunity to engage directly with the senior leadership of IDB Invest and key stakeholders from the United Kingdom and Latin America and the Caribbean.
Wednesday 21st October 2026 09:00 – 10:30 BST: Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Business Opportunities Webinars for Private Sector Projects - Join us for an online session with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) exploring business opportunities for private sector projects.
Tuesday 3rd November 2026 09:00 – 12:00 GMT: Skills Working Group: The Green Transition - Join us for our next in-person Skills Working Group meeting, which will explore the international mobility of skilled tradespeople relevant to the green transition. This meeting will bring together members of BEI and the D Group with guest speaker Helen Dempster, Co-Director, Migration and Displacement and Policy Fellow, Center for Global Development.
Wednesday 4th November 2026 14:00 – 16:00 GMT: UK-Pakistan Business Meeting - We will be hosting an incoming delegation from Pakistan for a conversation around workforce development and managing talent pipelines in key industries. This event will be for members in the Skills and Education sectors. More details to come soon.

Event recordings and resources

Event recordings - BEI member access only

External Events & Resources:

15th October 2026: Ghana Investor Day - Taking place on the margins of AFSIC in London. The event is being organised by the UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce (UKGCC) in collaboration with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade (BIST). Join this event to explore high-growth sectors, meet project sponsors, and unlock pathways to impactful investment deals.
11th - 13th November 2026: Africa PPP Summit in Nairobi, Kenya: the 16th Africa PPP Summit is co-convened by Kenya PPP Directorate and supported by the State Department for Public Investment & Asset management, National Treasury, Kenya. This years theme is "Building Africa’s Prosperity: Transformative Infrastructure, Investment and Partnerships to Accelerate Economic Development”. BEI members have an exclusive 10% discount. Please email Sofia Pennacchietti via sp@britishexperitse.org for more information.
17th - 19th November 2026: Ed Tech Pavilion at Africa Tech Festival in Cape Town, South Africa - A curated exhibition floor inside Africa's largest tech event - 13,500+ decision-makers, 650+ policymakers, 250 investors. Stands, pitch slots, and pre-qualified buyer meetings for education and skills companies entering African markets. Packages close early September. Contact: ernest@edtechexchange.africa or Complete the expression of interest form.
19th November 2026: Jordan–European Union Investment Conference at the King Hussein Bin Talal Convention Centre, Dead Sea, Jordan - The conference will bring together senior government representatives, investors and business leaders to explore investment opportunities in Jordan and strengthen cooperation across a number of key sectors.
6th - 8th April 2027: Innovation Africa 2027 in Harare, Zimbabwe: Innovation Africa 2027 is a Ministerial summit for Education, Skills and ICT Innovation which connects Africa's leaders with global technology partners. BEI members interested in joining can view partnership and participation options at this link: Innovation Africa Participation Options.