The annual awards event celebrating the best of UK infrastructure exports by UK-based professional services firms working internationally takes place on Wednesday 21 October 2020 as a virtual event featuring AI-powered networking and business matchmaking for all attendees.

The British Expertise International Awards 2020 will showcase the very best of British exports in infrastructure, capacity building and international development services. The virtual awards celebration is free to attend and includes the announcement of winners by UK government ministers, senior officials and other industry figures and then face-to-face virtual networking via an intuitive AI-powered matchmaking platform.

Alexandra Barnes, director, strategic initiatives at British Expertise International, said: “With this virtual awards event, we wanted to maximise exposure and networking opportunities for all participants. Each guest will be sent a personal registration link for our event on Brella, the event platform we are using to host the winner announcements and the one-on-one networking.

“Guests will be invited to select their region, sector and topic interests, to be matched with other attendees who have selected complementary interests. The networking platform features advanced filter and search tools to further narrow your search and ensure that attendees find the most interesting matches.”

Attendees at the virtual event will be able to invite each other to join one-on-one video meetings after the winner presentations on 21 October. Once a meeting has been accepted, the platform opens a private chat channel between the two guests to start the conversation.

The event will be introduced by British Expertise International CEO Tom Cargill and will feature a welcome speech from BEI president, HRH The Duke of Gloucester. James Duddridge, minister for Africa at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, will also deliver a keynote speech.  The shortlist for the prestigious awards was announced in January and includes some of the most successful and ambitious companies exporting infrastructure services.

The awards categories will be presented by the following leading international trade and industry figures:

• Joanna Crellin, Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Latin America and the Caribbean.
• Philippe Valahu, CEO, Private Infrastructure Development Group.
• Sir Suma Chakrabarti, Board Trustee, Overseas Development Institute
• Stephen Burgin, BEI Awards 2020 Judge; NED at Offshore Wind Growth Partnership
• Emma Wade Smith OBE, Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner for Africa
• Alan Gemmell, Her Majesty's Trade Commissioner for South Asia
• Raj Kumar, President and Editor-in-Chief, Devex
• Julie Lilley, Chief Executive, Federation of Small Businesses

Tom Cargill, CEO of British Expertise International, said: "For more than 50 years, British Expertise International has brought together the UK’s leading infrastructure companies alongside government and the wider supply chain, supporting members in identifying and winning work in the world’s most dynamic and complex markets. This year's awards will recognise and reward the very best organisations and individuals from across our industry and we look forward to welcoming people virtually to our annual awards celebtarion."

Click here to book your free place at the British Expertise International Awards 2020.