We brought the biggest business delegation to the region in living memory last week. Led by the Trade and Investment minister, Lord Livingston. A total of some 65 British companies came to the region, 40 of which came on the Budapest leg. It took an immense amount of preparation by the team here (and by the teams in Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia where the mission also touched down). And not everything went exactly to plan. But the visit was a tremendous success.
We were able to introduce all our guests to the Hungarian market, then to have experts talk to them about their specific sectors, and finally to introduce them to hand-picked Hungarian companies we thought would be interested in doing business with them. It’s early to say, but we reckon that there are around 80 good prospects for business as a result. Even allowing for a proportion not to work out, that’s a good result.
And the visit wasn’t just about contact (and contract) making for our visitors. Lord Livingston had a series of meetings with Hungarian ministers to discuss prospects for collaboration and for British and Hungarian companies to work together. And the visit generated a huge amount of media attention – up to 5 million people saw or read about the visit. So I hope and expect that the events and meetings we arranged really help spread the word that the UK wants to up its business game in Hungary and double the amount of business we do here in the next 5 years.
That would be good news for the UK, of course. But also for Hungary. Hungarian companies could source cheaper and/or better product from British companies than from their traditional sources. Hungarian consumers could get better deals. And British and Hungarian companies could form partnerships to help each other grow and internationalise. More and more a company succeeds or fails on the basis of the quality of its business partners. And there are some great businesses from the UK which are now available to Hungarian companies.
But how to put them in touch with each other? I’ve long been saying that my Embassy is a type of dating agency for companies: we can put good Hungarian companies in touch with their UK equivalents so they can see if there’s a (business) relationship to be made. The Networking Dinner Reception during the mission provided a fantastic opportunity for this, thanks to the sponsorship of Provident, TESCO and Unilever. But now, and opened by Lord Livingston, our British Business Centre is up and running.
The BBC (easily remembered!) is dedicated to helping smaller UK and Hungarian businesses to make a connection. Led by Oliver Strommer, a British/Hungarian dual national, the Centre is already creating networks across Hungary and the UK – through Chambers of commerce and trade associations. And is ready to help any and all Hungarian companies, which are looking for a partner to help them grow or to export. Take a look at their website and at our “Emerging Europe” site too – where you’ll see the extent of all we’re doing to bring the British business presence in Central Europe back to where it should be.
