Theo Clarke MP for Stafford was pleased to give a speech at the regional West Midlands Conference on Women in Business organised by the Department for International Trade. On International Women’s Day, Ms Clarke spoke about the opportunities for Stafford businesses to increase their exports and the importance of trade for creating jobs for people in Staffordshire. Ms Clarke also raised trading opportunities with the Commonwealth. Ms Clarke remains committed to increasing trade and exports to level up in Stafford and the West Midlands. As the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Kenya Ms Clarke is committed to increasing trade opportunities to level up Stafford, the West Midlands and countries across the world.
Theo Clarke MP for Stafford’s speech:
For centuries international trade has been the bedrock of the British economy. Strong trading partnerships, in turn benefit Britain by building global diplomatic networks. International Trade and our British foreign policy, work hand in hand to help increase economic development throughout the world. I believe that it is important Britain leads on the global stage. With us having the presidency of the G7 last year, followed by us hosting COP26 in Glasgow and holding the COP Presidency this year, we have the opportunity to lead by example and set ambitious global goals. (As a compassionate conservative), I believe that we must also lead internationally, in the short term to combat the coronavirus pandemic and in the long term to help countries develop economically.
I am therefore honoured to have been appointed the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Kenya, and I am particularly pleased that in this role l am able to work with such a crucial Commonwealth country and connect with its citizens.
I feel it would be remiss if I did not take a moment to recognise the devastating impact that the coronavirus pandemic has had, not just on my constituency of Stafford, but also throughout the Commonwealth. According to a recent report from the OECD, COVID-19 has pushed the number of people living in extreme poverty in Africa to over a billion. The immense scale of the challenge that lies ahead demands collaboration across the Commonwealth. As the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Kenya, I am determined to ensure that our two countries work hand-in-hand so that together, we can build back better, stronger and greener than ever.
Before the coronavirus turned our world upside-down, much work was being done in the UK to boost trade and investment across the Commonwealth and Africa. The inaugural UK-Africa Investment Summit, hosted by the Prime Minister in January 2020, facilitated deals totalling more than £6.5bn, spanning sectors from infrastructure to retail, tech and energy. And when I was at the African Investment Conference this January, it was clear to me that the Government remains committed to the Commonwealth and Global Britain.
I was honoured to attend the signing of the UK-Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement, where we were fortunate enough to host Kenyan Cabinet Secretary Maina in-person in the Foreign Office. This new trade deal between Kenya and the UK ensures that, as the UK forges a new path for itself outside of the European Union. Businesses, like those selling tea, coffee, food and flowers in Kenya, can continue to enjoy duty-free access to the UK market, supporting jobs and livelihoods in both our countries. Trade deals like this have been replicated with countries throughout the Commonwealth and much of this is due to the strong existing diplomatic ties that the UK has with its Commonwealth partners.
As Trade Envoy, I work closely with both British and Kenyan businesses to help them grow and export effectively. By working with the Department for International Trade and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, I can also help unlock opportunities for businesses, as well sharing British expertise in emerging sectors such as the green economy. Having founded a number of start-ups myself, I know how challenging the process can be, so I was pleased to see how the UK Government is supporting British start-ups in Kenya. I undertook a recent visit to Kenya as Trade Envoy and I accompanied The Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP, the COP26 President, to meet with Arc Ride in Nairobi. Arc Ride is a British start-up which is now providing electric vehicles across East Africa. ARC Ride promotes low-carbon technologies as climate-friendly solutions. The Cop President and I spoke with ARC Ride representatives to discuss how UK-based expertise and technologies can be harnessed to provide innovative solutions to climate issues. As Trade Envoy I continue to work with the Department for International Trade team to help this green business expand and unlock other opportunities for green jobs both in Kenya and the UK.
Not only does increasing trade mean that countries can share expertise, increasing trade also creates a net benefit for all. At first glance, you might not think, that the transformers for electricity generators manufactured by General Electric in my Stafford constituency and cocoa beans growing on trees in Africa have much in common, but you would be wrong!
I recently visited a fair trade co-operative cocoa farm, nestled in the undulating hills of central Ghana. Here I saw for myself the many jobs the farm provides, especially for women, and the families that these jobs support. Not only is this a great fair trade initiative but these cocoa beans are used to produce chocolate that is transported throughout the world. In fact, the very chocolate, that is sold in Stafford supermarkets and can found in the pockets of my constituents working at the General Electric factory in Staffordshire.
And when the Ghanaian cocoa farmer returns home after a hard day’s work and she switches on the light, she is using the transformer manufactured here in Britain, in my Stafford constituency. Because that’s how trade works. Both sides win.
For the UK and Africa, our two-way trade has enormous value – recently estimated to be worth over £35 billion for goods and services, creating and sustaining countless jobs across our country and on the African continent. Our Prime Minister has been quick to seize this opportunity. At the Africa Investment conference earlier this year, he promised to renew our economic partnership with Africa, which contains some of the fastest-growing economies in the world.
Not only does trade mean a wider variety of products available in our shops, for without Kenyan trade many people in the UK would not be receiving red roses on Valentines day. Trade also matters to people in my Stafford constituency because trade means we can create more local jobs by creating opportunities for local businesses to export to emerging markets. Research suggests that 58% of West Midlands organisations aim to begin trading overseas in 2022. This could make a huge difference to business owners in the west midlands as statistics suggest that increasing exporting could be worth an additional £182m to the local economy next year rising to £1.5bn a year economic boost for the West Midlands by 2030. This is why I recently held a Stafford exporting roundtable with the Department for International Trade which helped Staffordshire businesses of all sizes learn how they can trade effectively overseas.
Thanks to its rapidly growing population, Africa will be home to a quarter of the world’s consumers by 2050. This provides huge potential for UK based businesses looking to connect with new customers and build strong export markets throughout the world. For example, parts from the JCB plant in Staffordshire are distributed across the Commonwealth, linking workers in a chain that stretches across the globe.
I am pleased that the UK has now been able to retake its seat as an independent member at the World Trade Organisation. Last September, I was delighted speak at the WTO public forum in Geneva and meet with WTO Director General Dr Ngozi. I also met Commonwealth Ambassadors from Australia, South Africa, Nigeria and Jamaica, who were all excited about the opportunity to trade with Britain on our own terms. Global Britain is re-galvanizing trade right across the Commonwealth’s huge market of 2.5 billion people and our new free trade agreements have the potential to improve the quality of lives of those living throughout the Commonwealth.
As today is International Women’s Day I would like to conclude by highlighting a programme that the UK government launched in April 2018 which is transforming the lives of women throughout the Commonwealth. This is the She Trades initiative, which aims to increase the number of women-owned businesses by supporting thousands of female entrepreneurs across the Commonwealth, helping them to export for the first time.
This is vital as recent studies have shown that as of the end of last year, only 47% of women participated in the global labour force, compared to 74% of men. Globally, only one in three businesses are owned by women, and most of these companies tend to be small and operate in the informal sector. Women owned firms are vastly underrepresented in international trade, with only 15% of these female owned companies exporting from their country. As a former female entrepreneur, I believe that this situation needs to improve for women, which is where She Trades comes in.
She Trades has provided training to over 3,000 women entrepreneurs in Commonwealth countries including, Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, and has generated £30 million of sales and supported the creation of nearly 4,000 jobs. She Trades is led by the International Trade Centre, and I was delighted to meet with the Executive Director, Pamela Coke-Hamilton, when I was in Geneva last Autumn. In this meeting we discussed the positive impact this programme has achieved with UK support and its plans to scale-up and empower thousands more women in the Commonwealth through trade.
She Trades demonstrates how not only Global Britain is leading by unlocking international trade opportunities but it is also making inroads towards wider social goals like economic empowerment of women in developing countries across the Commonwealth.
One billion people have been lifted out of extreme poverty since 1990 through international trade and I am delighted that that the Prime Minister has pledged the UK as the foremost champion of free trade in the world. To me developing closer links with Commonwealth countries through trade is crucial to creating a fairer, more prosperous, greener future. As the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy I am committed to increasing trade opportunities in order to level up not just my Stafford constituency and the West Midlands but to level up the world.
