Digital opportunities and global trade providing a lifeline for businesses

Panellists at the latest meeting of the UK Israel Business Virtual Breakfast Club spoke of how firms have tackled the pandemic by embracing new opportunities to do business digitally and trade internationally.

The event was addressed by Mark Robson, Department for International Trade head, UK Regions – Yorkshire and Humber, Lee-J Walker, joint managing director at TheBusinessDesk.com and Paul Alster, an experienced broadcast journalist based in Israel.

The webinar was chaired by Jonny Ross from Fleek Marketing and introduced by Colin Glass, chairman of UK Israel Business (North East) and director at Murray Harcourt.

Robson said while the pandemic has of course created plenty of problems, another consequence has been to show business leaders that they can communicate effectively with people from all over the globe – so long as they have a decent broadband connection.

He added that after the initial shock of March and April last year, he had seen companies take stock then rethink their international business strategy to cope effectively with the changed circumstances.

“We have a team of 30 odd advisors who’ve been working with these companies and we have offered them support with how they can sell better online,” he said.

“We’ve seen some sectors benefit, such as life sciences, healthcare and digital. And some manufacturing businesses have managed to find new markets around the world.

“We do largely tend to speak to companies which are growth oriented anyway, so they may not be fully representative of majority of businesses.”

Walker said he was optimistic that businesses in the UK would benefit from an improving picture throughout the year as the successful vaccination rollout continues.

Lee-J Walker

“In terms of confidence, from conversations with our own clients, we’re seeing larger corporates and big professional services firms erring more on the side of caution,” he added. “They’re not wanting to rush full teams back into the office straightaway.

“But SMEs are chomping at the bit and there’s an appetite to get back out there and do business.”

He explained TheBusinessDesk.com had managed to adapt itself to the pandemic very quickly, despite its revenue in early 2020 being largely generated by its programme of events.

“We’ve benefited from being a digital business – those companies which have adopted a robust tech strategy have prevailed,” he said.

Alster gave the Israeli perspective on the pandemic, reflecting on the outcome of the nation’s pioneering, world-leading vaccination programme.

“I think the Israelis have a mindset of not being frightened to try new things,” he said. “And Israel already had a highly developed system of medical information, with everyone’s medical details being computerised.”

He said his own small town had initially been hit very hard by the pandemic’s ravaging of the tourist industry.

But he said despite this, small businesses in the town were already opening back up. He attributed this to Israelis having a “let’s get it done attitude”, which comes from many years experience of coping with adversity.