Seasoned exporters from three successful Yorkshire businesses which have benefitted from Department for International Trade (DIT) funding and support will be highlighting the overseas trade opportunities for businesses in the Leeds City Region at the next ExportExchange ‘Live’ event at EY’s offices in Leeds on 26th March.
Zandra Moore, chief executive of Panintelligence will be among the line-up of speakers, talking about how the Leeds-based analytics and business intelligence software business has grown its international sales and secured global contracts.
Ian Harris, executive chairman of the digital marketing specialist business Search Laboratory, which offers expertise in multilingual campaign management, will also be on hand to explain how the company attracted clients in the US and went on to set up an office in New York.
Another Yorkshire exporter, Ian Emberton, managing director of Xerogrid which specialises in fitting solar and wind power in difficult to reach locations, will discuss the company’s projects in Ghana and Nigeria. The panel will also include one of EY’s international finance experts.
“There’s no doubt that there is a global appetite for British products which are renowned for their quality and innovation, and it’s up to businesses here to seize these opportunities in new markets, wherever they are,” comments Zandra Moore. “There is so much talent in Yorkshire that I believe we should have big ambitions and can confidently expand our horizons and look to explore markets worldwide.
“Businesses in the region need to learn from one another and also take advantage of the valuable support available from organisations like DIT which has certainly helped us on our export journey, both in terms of providing valuable advice as well as funding support. We’ve been networked through the Boston ecosystem by our consultants in conjunction with the British Consulate team in New England, and even our progress onto the Amazon AWS platform was directly facilitated by them, which was invaluable.”
The ExportExchange panel event will also include Mark Robson, Head, UK Regions – Yorkshire and Humber at DIT, who will also give an overview of future export opportunities for UK businesses as well as providing a strategic overview of Northern Powerhouse and DIT priorities for 2020.
Taking place on Thursday 26th March at EY’s offices in Bridgewater Place on Water Lane, the breakfast event will share advice and tips about how businesses in the region can expand globally.
Businesses interested in attending the free event, which runs from 8am to 10am, should register via the ExportExchange events page.
The ExportExchange initiative, which launched in 2017 to bring together experts in overseas trade within firms from the Leeds City Region, has helped share exporting knowledge with many growing exporters who have registered to receive advice from experienced Yorkshire mentors or ‘patrons’.
The ExportExchange programme is backed by the European Regional Development Fund and supported by the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the Department for International Trade (DIT), and a number of private sector export specialists.
