Grants of £2,500 available for UK companies at trade shows

The British Plastics Federation (BPF) is highlighting the availability of grants worth up to £2,500 from the Department for International Trade (DIT) to assist British companies with the cost of exhibiting at two upcoming overseas trade shows. 

Plastimagen, being held on 7 - 10 November 2017 in Mexico City, and Plastindia, being held on 7 - 12 February 2018 in Ahmadabad, are export markets viewed favourably by the DIT. 

Mexico has a number of free trade agreements with both the EU and the USA. It currently imports almost 50 percent of its plastics materials, as well as the majority of its equipment.

Similarly, India is a huge and well-known export market and it is widely anticipated that the Indian Government’s recently announced $375 billion infrastructure investment programme will create even more opportunities.

The BPF, which was involved in a bidding process for DIT to secure these grants, points out that there are only a limited number available and they will be allocated on first-come, first-served basis.

Justyna Elliot, BPF Senior Business Development Executive, said: “We are pleased to announce that we have secured grants of £2500 for eligible British companies, but with a limit of just ten grants per show, we expect them to go quickly. If you are hoping to be part of the British Pavilion at either of these shows, please get in touch soon as there is only limited space available."

The DIT Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP), which oversees grant distribution, has the objective of encouraging new-to-export UK companies to exhibit overseas and explore foreign markets.

More experienced SMEs can also apply as long as they have been exporting for less than ten years or have not exhibited at a previous edition of a tradeshow.

TAP grants are viewed as a huge motivator for British companies in exploring foreign markets as they cover the majority of the cost of a small stand, reducing the cost of exhibiting abroad.