UK Export Finance, the government’s trade finance arm, has pledged a fivefold increase in the number of businesses it supports by 2029.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and particularly those owned and run by women, are set to be the primary beneficiaries, it said.
The export credit agency provides insurance cover on overseas contracts and guarantees on loans linked to exports where banks are reluctant to take on the risk. It has the ability to do £60 billion of business. However, last year it had only £46 billion on its books and Tim Reid, its chief executive, has said he wanted to increase that total.
On average over the past three years 170 SMEs received support each year, representing 81 per cent of the agency’s
