Swindon firms are to be given the chance to explore doing business in more than 70 countries worldwide when an international delegation visits the region next week.
ExploreExport 2015 is aimed at all companies keen to expand overseas and is staged against a backdrop of rising exports from the South West.
Latest figures show that the total value of overseas sales from the region has increased by 5.6% to £14.5bn this year.
The event, on Wednesday November 11 at Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol, will allow attendees to find out about business opportunities around the world in just one day without the travel costs or time investment involved in crossing continents. 
The international delegates from the 70-plus countries will be promoting live business opportunities in their home market. Organiser UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) – the Government’s overseas trade promotion body – is urging business of all sizes to get involved.
Firms attending will be able to develop a tailored programme of one-to-one meetings with in-market experts from British embassies and consulates as well as join a number of seminars on topical matters such as digital/ecommerce world, protecting intellectual property (IP), becoming export savvy and exporting to expanding markets.
Countries represented at the event include the high-growth BRIC markets Brazil, Russia, India and China, as well as mature markets such as US and Australia and emerging economies such as Afghanistan and Cuba.
UKTI regional director Russell Jones said: “The South West has so much to offer the rest of the world. We have a fascinating array of interesting start-ups, small companies and growth businesses based here filling much-needed gaps in the international market. UKTI’s agenda is to promote UK goods and services to all four corners of the globe. Any business that is ambitious needs to be at this event.”
Tickets are £50 plus VAT per person and places are available on a first come, first served basis. Registration is online via http://www.exploreexport.ukti.gov.uk/Bristol.aspx
ExploreExport, which runs from 8:30am to 4pm, is a core part of national Export Week from November 9-13 and is being staged by Business West in association with UKTI. Export Week kicks off a new initiative; Exporting is GREAT, the UK Government’s most ambitious export campaign ever. It aims to inspire and support 100,000 new UK exporters to sell their goods and services overseas by 2020.
Top export markets for South West firms by value are Germany, France, the US, Ireland and Italy, and best-performing sectors include machinery & transport equipment, manufactured goods, food, live animals, chemicals and related products.
Countries represented at the event include Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guyana (Caribbean), Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, UAE, USA, Venezuela and Vietnam.
