County businesses could be missing valuable opportunities to trade around the world but action is being taken to change that.
Currently, the Greater Lincolnshire area lags behind the rest of the region in terms of the number of businesses that export outside of the UK. Our area contributes only 5.6% of all export goods leaving the East Midlands.
Lincolnshire County Council has a new internationalisation strategy working with the Department of International Trade and the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership.
Part of this is a plan to support more businesses to sell goods and services around the world. There are many support services that businesses might not be aware of that can help them start or improve exporting, and these are co-ordinated through the Business Lincolnshire Growth Hub.
Cllr Colin Davie, executive councillor for economy and place, said: “There are lots of misconceptions that trading globally is overly-complicated or requires specialist skills.
"In reality, businesses may be missing out on whole new markets by not broadening their horizons. There is support to help you either take the first steps to exporting, or grow your existing trade outside the UK.”
Established and larger county exporters have access to dedicated Department for International Trade advisers for our area, as well as sector-specific advisers, and and additional support from Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership’s dedicated Department for International Trade Adviser.
For small and medium sized businesses - importing and exporting - the Business Lincolnshire Growth Hub co-ordinates a successful International Trade programme.
There’s intensive help to get started, and ongoing support from the Global Trade Department who have extensive knowledge of challenges small and medium sized businesses face when trading internationally.
Businesses interested in exporting can also apply for an Internationalisation Fund grant of up to £9000 to help with 50% of the cost of things like legal advice, PR support, website updates or attending trade fairs.
There is also help available through the Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce Export Documentation Services and accredited training.
Information about the support available can be found at www.businesslincolnshire.com.
As well as promoting the support available, the council is developing a peer to peer network to encourage collaborative working, so businesses can learn from each other’s experiences.
The new strategy also utilises opportunities from the Humber Freeport to promote the value of international trade, and looks at ways to provide more support for those involved in global importing too.