BEI Weekly Update — 3rd March 2023

Dear Members and Friends,

In ‘Out and About’, after a very busy week last week hosting two events either side of the World Water-Tech Innovation Summit, you can read Alexandra’s reflections on the issues and opportunities that were discussed across the week here.

This week, our Climate Change Working Group met and heard from John Carstensen of Mott McDonald. You can see Katie’s blog on this excellent event here. Listings and links to register for future events can be found immediately underneath my signature.

In ‘23 Grafton Street’, as we head towards International Women’s Day next week, our Gallery, D Contemporary has launched its exhibition Unladylike, which pursues the idea of the human body as a metaphor for female representation in art, and includes stunning portraits of costume designer and BAFTA Fellowship winner Sandy Powell OBE. Read more and register for the PV this evening by following this link.

We are looking forward to a series of events across the month inspired by International Women’s Day. This includes an evening in conversation with the inspiring Hetti Barkworth Nanton, followed by a networking reception on 21st March.

Warm regards,

Ingrid (on Peter’s Behalf)

Peter O’Kane  

Chairman  

British Expertise International/Strategy International

Recent recordings:

• 21st February 2023: Doing Business in Saudi Arabia - We heard about the Kingdom’s foreign investment environment, challenges operating in the market and how to navigate these, the fixed and recurring costs, as well as the legal and tax regulatory environments.
• 23rd February 2023: Donor Clinic: Working with U.S. Agency for International Development - We were joined by a team from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) who shared their tips and tricks on how to work with USAID as well as the challenges suppliers may encounter and how to overcome these.

Key events coming up include the following:

• 7^th March 2023 10:00-11:30 GMT: Market Opportunity Overview: Nepal - in partnership with the British Embassy. Nepal has demonstrated its commitment to increasing its renewable energy and to making its infrastructure more resilient and sustainable. It also presents significant opportunities in education and skills development.
  
• 15th March 2023 16:00-19:00 GMT: 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.
  
• 16th March 2023 10:00-11:30 GMT: Market Opportunity Overview: Uganda - We are delighted to announce we will be hosting a Market Opportunity Overview on Uganda with the Department of International Trade in Uganda! Join us as we learn about the pipeline of opportunities across varying sectors, such as education, climate and infrastructure.
  
• 21st March 2023 Save The Date: International Women’s Day Reception with keynote from Hetti Barkworth Nanton, CEO of Ploughshare
  
• 28th March 2023 10:00- 11:30 BST: Morocco Infrastructure Opportunities - The relationship between the UK and Morocco is entering a new era of positive relations following the UK-Morocco Association Agreement in 2022. Recent discussions have focused on renewed collaboration on trade, education, climate, clean energy and green growth, as well as the global implications of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on food and energy security.
  
• 28th March 2023 15:00-17:00 BST: Education Roundtable in Latin America and The Caribbean with Department for Business and Trade - Join us for an in-person presentation led by Kelly Tavares Department for Business and Trade (DBT)’s Head of Education in Latin America and The Caribbean (LATAC). Kelly will provide an overview on education opportunities for UK organisations in the region with a focus on DBT’s priority markets: Brazil, Mexico, Commonwealth Caribbean, Panama, and Columbia.
  
• 30th March 2023 9:00-10:30 BST: Global Victoria: Education Opportunities - Global Victoria, the State Government of Victoria's trade facilitation agency will be joint by Invest Victoria, the State Government of Victoria's investment attraction authority in presenting a range of education opportunities in the State on K12, skills and training, and education technology.  
  
• 6th April 2023 10:00-11:15 BST: Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon Education Deep Dive with DIT - Join us for a deep dive into the education opportunities in Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon as led by teams from the Department for International Trade and Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office. They will aim to provide us with an insight into the key education priorities for UK plc looking to do business in the three countries.
  
• 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.
  
• 26th April 2023 13:30-15:30 BST: Roundtable with Mark Eastwood, UK’s Trade Envoy to Pakistan - Join us for an in-person roundtable with 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 practice 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.
  
• 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

• 8th March 2023: Bringing UK & Saudi Cleantech innovators together - Following morning panels and a networking lunch, the afternoon sessions will offer selected companies the opportunity to pitch their technology to potential investors and help Start-ups to access new sources of growth capital. Research institutions and innovation hubs will also have the chance to meet and discuss potential partnerships.
  
• 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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