The Department for International Trade has created a platform to help UK businesses get better export deals in a bid to meet trade targets.
Government wants to promote UK businesses overseas – Photo credit: PA Images
GREAT.gov.uk, announced yesterday, will provide a searchable export directory to match UK businesses with worldwide demand for goods and services and help them secure preferential deals.
The DIT said that the idea was to encourage more businesses to think about their export potential.
It said: “Of the 2.5 million businesses registered in the UK, an estimated 360,000 who have an exportable product or service mistakenly believe there isn’t a global demand for it.”
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The platform, which the DIT describes as a “digital trade hub”, is part of efforts to help a further 100,000 UK businesses to export by 2020.
“The site will act as a single digital destination for trade and investment, bringing together and connecting UK businesses, international buyers and international investors,” the department said.
It will also offer businesses tools, practical advice and support to help them win contracts and exclusive deals on fees or commissions.
The DIT said it had signed agreements with the banks Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, RBS and Santander, as well as the consultancies EY, KPMG, Deloitte, and PWC to be partners in the platform.
So far, the government’s e-exporting programme has helped more than 3,000 companies to export since 2014, which DIT said had generated deals worth £388m.
Through the new hub, the government said it planned to add a further 20,000 online exporters and £2bn of value to the UK economy by 2020.
The hub will have information on why and how to invest in the UK, which will be in various languages, as well as four pages for the priority markets of India, China, Germany and the US that have dedicated translated content on them.
International trade secretary Liam Fox said: “GREAT.gov.uk will show an international audience that we’re home to the most dynamic and innovative companies in the world and that Britain is open for business as never before.”
