Partner Article

IFB 2014’s £1.7 billion contract bonanza

The International Festival for Business 2014 is giving the nation’s businesses access to over 1000 live business leads from more than 70 countries which have an estimated value of over £1.7 billion.

Festival organisers have compiled the leads in partnership with UKTI and the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and made the majority of leads freely accessible via the IFB2014.com website and are available now.

Organisers have also secured a number of leads which will be delivered solely to members of the IFB Business Club via the Meet the Buyer events which will take place in the festival’s International Trade Hub at Mann Island for its 50-day duration.

These IFB specific opportunities range from logistics, packaging, IT equipment, waste management, stationery and food products.

Organisations already using this specific IFB channel to procure new suppliers include:

• Tesco
• Aldi
• Home Bargains
• Typhoo Tea
• John West Foods
• Aircelle Ltd – leading aerospace manufacturer
• Hewlett Packard
• Merseytravel
• Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust

Other household name organisations are currently in advanced negotiations to take part and will be confirmed in due course.

Max Steinberg CBE, chair of IFB 2014, said: “This captures the essence of what the international Festival for Business is all about - matching business to the opportunities from which they can move to the next level. I urge more companies and individuals to sign up to the IFB Business Club to take advantage.

“Through IFB membership these opportunities are in easy reach, they are there for the taking. They are wide and varied and a conservative estimate of their value is around £1.7bn and it is, in fact, probably a lot more than this.

“IFB’s Business Brokerage and Meet the Buyer initiatives are precisely how the Festival will make a meaningful difference and, taken together, are potentially a game changer for the region’s and nation’s businesses and export ambitions.”

The 1200+ leads cover a multitude of opportunities drawn from all corners of the globe. The most important economies to the UK are all well represented along with multiple opportunities from emerging markets like China, India, Russia, Turkey and Indonesia.

Examples of the contracts available include:

• Civil, road, traffic and transport engineering services in Israel
• Supply chain training in India
• Road and bridge design and construction in Libya
• Project management in New Zealand
• Geo-thermal energy project in Mauritius

Also available are:

• Landscape design services in India
• Recruitment support for the US Department of Public Health
• Skills consultancy in Barbados

There are currently more than 3000 companies registered for the IFB Business Club which can be joined online via the IFB 2014 homepage which also provides access to many of the contract leads on offer.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .