A new initiative is being launched to help small businesses across the UK expand into international markets, as Prime Minister Keir Starmer leads a trade delegation to India this week.
BT and Small Business Britain, both part of the delegation to Mumbai, have announced the Great British Pitch, a programme designed to put export-ready UK firms in front of buyers and investors around the world.
Fewer than a quarter of small businesses currently sell overseas, and only a small share trade with India, according to government data published in September.
The new scheme aims to close that gap by giving more than 100 selected businesses training, coaching, and a live-streamed slot to pitch their products and services to an international audience.
The event will take place at BT’s London headquarters on 5 November, during this year’s International Trade Week, which runs from 3–7 November.
Firms from technology, food and drink, and the creative industries are expected to take part.
Backing from BT and Small Business Britain
BT Group Chief Executive Allison Kirkby said India is “a global tech hub and one of the UK’s most important trading partners” and that the programme will help small firms “reach new international markets” while building digital resilience.
Michelle Ovens CBE, founder of Small Business Britain and a government adviser on the Board of Trade, said the aim is to help entrepreneurs “spark live opportunities, partnerships and unlock deals with trading partners around the world, particularly India”.
She added: “Britain’s small businesses have a great opportunity through the new UK–India trade deal to accelerate their export journey and build on their potential.”
Support from the government and business
The Great British Pitch is supported by the Department for Business and Trade and sits alongside wider efforts to deepen UK–India economic ties following this summer’s agreement in principle on a trade deal.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer called small firms “the engine of our economy” and said initiatives like this can help take ideas global and “power the growth our country needs”.
Small firms taking part
For business owners taking part, the exposure could be significant. Hepsie Goddin, co-founder of gift and homeware brand Martha and Hepsie Ltd in Sheffield and Devon, said: “We’re so excited to have the chance to pitch during International Trade Week. Exporting can come with its challenges, but we believe British-made products are among the best in the world.”
Another participant, Cat Bateman of Little Folk Nursery Rhymes in London, described it as “a huge opportunity to share a new subscription service with global buyers and explore markets that would be pretty impossible otherwise”.
More information
Background data is available in the Longitudinal Small Business Survey 2024 (SME employers) on GOV.UK.
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