Member Article

Leeds city region builds partnerships with Estonian visit

~~Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (The LEP) is hosting a business delegation led by the Estonian ambassador, in order to explore the potential for bilateral trade and investment.

The visit which takes place on 5th and 6th March, will see, Ambassador Lauri Bambus and a group of Estonian businesses leaders meet with representatives of the private and public sectors from across the City Region and visit a number of locations including Huddersfield, York and the White Rose Office Park in Leeds. The visit will feature 50 representatives from leading businesses in the health and innovation, green technology (GreenTech) and financial technology (FinTech) sectors from both the City Region and Estonia and is part of Leeds City Region’s ongoing mission to drive international investment, explore opportunities for trade and learn from the other countries’ successes in sectors which will fuel local economic growth.

The two days of activity, offer the chance for the delegations to exchange knowledge, with a particular focus upon Estonia’s digital and health an innovation industries and infrastructure. This has enabled an unprecedented level of transparency and accessibility in government, resulting in a healthier, better educated population and a prosperous environment for business and entrepreneurship.

The trade mission is focusing upon a number of industries including financial technology (FinTech), a sector which has tripled in size over the last five years and is set to be pivotal in the development of Leeds City Region’s economy moving forward. Chancellor George Osborne recently outlined his ambition for a FinTech accelerator to open in the region, due to its strong financial sector, digital infrastructure and the genuine enthusiasm for innovation from business leaders. Leeds City Region Is the second largest centre for banking in the UK and has particular strengths in FinTech such as data analytics, payment applications development, financial information exchange, which is supported by an innovative big data infrastructure including Leeds Data Mill, the Leeds Open Data Institute (ODI) and Leeds University’s Consumer Data Research Centre (CDRC). This means businesses in the region have unique access to some of the largest databases, leading academics and researchers globally, offering a fantastic opportunity to drive forward the industry.

The delegation will also experience the City Regions strengths within both GreenTech and health and innovation, through visits to York University’s Biorenewables Centre and the Leeds Beckett University Health Simulation Centre. The ambassador will also give a lecture to journalism students at Leeds Beckett University on Estonia, its e-economy and its ‘100 Friends’ initiative, which offers journalism students the chance to study in a country with a high press freedom index.

Roger Marsh, Chair of The LEP, commented, “Leeds City Region is delighted to be hosting the Ambassador and his delegation of Estonian businesses. Through this programme of activity we hope to create a dialogue and exchange knowledge between leading businesses based here and those in Estonia which are working in our core industries. This also opens up the potential for bilateral trade that will drive growth for both the Estonian and Leeds City Region economies.

Lurene Joseph, chief executive of Leeds and Partners, which is leading on the visit, added, “Over the last three years our strategy has focused on identifying and developing the clear sector strengths of Leeds and the wider region in order to deliver measurable economic growth. This visit from the Estonian Ambassador and broader engagement with Estonian businesses in the FinTech and health and innovation industries reinforces our approach and offers the opportunity to drive potential inward investment and jobs into the region from businesses looking to expand their operations into the UK.”

To find out more information about Leeds City Region and the visit of the Estonian delegation, please visit www.investleedscityregion.com.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ben Ormsby .