Typical. You wait months for a trade deal, and then two come along at once. But these are very different beasts. First, India; one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing economies, with a huge and youthful population. Here, a trade deal provides British entrepreneurs with easier access to a vast and expanding consumer base.
It should be acknowledged that this has been in the making since January 2022, but hats off to the Government for getting it over the line. As I said to Sifted:
“Given the strength of both countries in technology and services, opportunities will open up for British firms to offer fintech, edtech, and professional services in India without requiring a physical presence.
“Critically, UK entrepreneurs will benefit from being among the first foreign entrants in newly-liberalised Indian sectors, giving them an edge over competitors in countries without a deal.”
Having visited many of India’s big cities, I’m more bullish than most. A trip to Gurgaon sticks in my mind. It’s India's 56th largest city in terms of population, eighth largest in terms of wealth, and the country’s second-largest information technology hub. I met countless razor-sharp, hugely ambitious young people building incredible things. It goes without saying that India, like all countries, has challenges to overcome, but it also has a huge amount of potential – potential that we could tap into in more ways than just trade.
After all, everyone knows that many of Silicon Valley’s – and by extension the world’s – biggest companies are run by people hailing from the most populous democracy on Earth. The UK has also benefited hugely from Indian-born founders, as our Job Creators reports have shown.
Those reports also show that many of the UK’s most successful founders (as judged by company valuation) are foreign-born and come to the UK to study before starting and growing their businesses here. If the forthcoming Immigration White Paper limits the ability of people to stay here after graduation (as has been rumoured), the impact on the UK will be profoundly damaging to entrepreneurship. It would mean vast swathes of future high-potential firms won’t be built in the UK (it will also slam universities and local economies across Britain).
The other trade deal was, of course, with the US. While it’s understandable that the UK Government signed the deal, I think the more sober assessments of Britain’s broadsheets are about right, with Alan Beattie writing that “the pact is closer to a protection payment to a mob boss than a liberalising agreement between sovereign countries.”
For our part, as per our Towards A More Special Relationship report, in partnership with Rigby Group, we continue to make the case for small steps towards a better agreement. British businesses are certainly optimistic, expecting tariffs to be withdrawn within six months, according to polling by Boston Consulting Group.
Uncanny Valleys
Our Head of Science and Technology Anastasia Bektimirova sat down with Graeme Reid, Professor of Science and Research Policy at UCL, to discuss the forces reshaping Britain’s innovation landscape since the 1980s. Having advised governments on science policy over the years, Graeme shared thoughts on how academia-industry-government relationships have shifted over the decades.
“The valley of death weakness has been diagnosed many times. We know the problem and don’t need another review to confirm it. What we need now is a solution.”
This blunt assessment cuts to the heart of a peculiar affliction: diagnosing problems in our innovation ecosystem without implementing lasting solutions.
For example, “one of the problems is the turbulence in regional funding,” he explains, describing how promising initiatives are repeatedly replaced before they can demonstrate effectiveness.
“Just as it begins to show promise – five or seven years later – it’s replaced by something similar but with slightly different terms or people, essentially starting over from scratch.”
This pattern appears across the innovation landscape, from the challenges of science-based companies scaling up to academic-policy engagement. Read the full interview here.
Butler Did It
I’m delighted to welcome Buzzacott as our latest Corporate Partner and Iain Butler, their Head of Innovation Incentives, as our latest Adviser.
Iain specialises in R&D Tax Credits, but has spent ten years as an R&D team manager and engineer himself in the space, semiconductor, and media industries, so truly understands the challenges these teams face.
“For the UK to truly thrive, it must bolster the R&D and innovation efforts of ambitious entrepreneurs and SMEs. We are committed to collaborating with The Entrepreneurs Network to ensure that SME innovation remains a focal point in Westminster’s discussions.”
We’ll be hosting a roundtable discussion with Buzzacott on R&D Tax Credits as part of our partnership. If the last few conversations I’ve had with entrepreneurs is anything to go by, I know this will be oversubscribed.
If you’re keen to discuss becoming an Adviser or Corporate Partner, you can find out more here, and book a time to speak with me here.