Richard Fuller – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Richard Fuller on 2014-04-03.

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what recent assessment he has made of the quality and performance of UK Trade and Investment support for UK-Nigeria partnerships in (a) financial services, (b) the creative industries and (c) educational services.

Michael Fallon

UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) carries out an in-depth assessment of its overall impact each quarter via the Performance Impact Monitoring Survey (PIMS). Generic assessments of specific sectors are carried out externally on behalf of UKTI. The business impact of individual services and activities is also monitored by the teams delivering them.

UKTI delivers a range of services in relation to Nigeria in the sectors specified, both bespoke services for individual companies and broader activities. These are in line with sector strategies for the market. Some recent examples include a financial services mission to Nigeria in March organised by UKTI, in partnership with Nigerian Diaspora individuals working in the City of London. Also in March, UKTI Nigeria worked with UK and Nigerian stakeholders to deliver an SME event in Lagos focused on creative industries. This was followed in early April by a videoconference between UK and Nigerian companies engaged in fashion retail. UKTI was also involved in a local education event in Lagos in early April during which Nigerian requirements were successfully matched to UK companies offering relevant expertise.

All participants who commented on these events reported that they found their participation useful. All have identified follow up actions and UKTI will be monitoring successes which ensue.