Focus on exports to beat recession

West Midlands firms who are not exporting may be missing out on hundreds of thousands of pounds in lost trade.

The export shy firms may also be overlooking a good chance to boost productivity and recover from the recession.

That’s the view of Birmingham Chamber-based Midlands Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), a business support organisation for small to medium enterprises (SMEs), which is fully subsidised by the European Commission.

EEN says that research* has found that companies who embrace exporting can boost their productivity by as much as 34 per cent in the first year alone.

To celebrate ‘European SME Week’ (3-7 October), EEN is offering West Midlands SMEs the opportunity to take advantage of free consultation sessions to help them gain a foothold in the export marketplace.

The free sessions will focus on helping businesses identify export opportunities withinEurope, and also how to source European agents and distributors.

Craig Biffen, EEN Project Co-ordinator, said: “There are a vast amount of European export opportunities available for businesses. For a company, just one market can no longer be relied upon to generate 100 per cent of sales.

“Entering more markets means more customers to help grow a business and spread risk. Usually, the greatest obstacle in starting to trade internationally is a lack of knowledge, support and focus.

“EEN has a wealth of experience to guide and support businesses taking the first steps into exporting. European SME Week is aimed at showcasing some of the available opportunities.”

In less than three years, the EEN has helped more than 2.5m companies make the most of the Single Market. Its dedicated business events have been attended by more than 600,000 participants.

EEN has also helped more than 4,500 small to medium enterprises, in a variety of ways, ranging from business co-operation, technology transfer, or matching research partners.