The Duke of Cambridge has urged small businesses to get exporting to stop Britain losing its position as a “hub for global commerce”.
Speaking exclusively to The Sunday Times, Prince William said it was “vital for future growth and prosperity that more of these businesses start to export”.
“Britain has always been a great trading nation, and a hub for global commerce,” he added, “but where our fast-growing community of small and medium-sized enterprises is concerned, we cannot risk falling behind.”
He was speaking before the International Business Festival, where he is a patron, which starts in Liverpool this week. The comments come amid a renewed export push by the government. At present, it is estimated that just a third of small businesses sell their products abroad.
Boosting exports is seen as vital if Britain is to flourish after leaving the EU. In the year to the end of March, the total trade deficit narrowed by £13.3bn to £26.6bn.
Prince William was positive about the post-Brexit prospects for companies in the Commonwealth, saying: “There is no other network on earth that comes close to the Commonwealth in terms of its breadth and impact — it truly is the mother of all networks.”
He said he hoped the business festival would support the “next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders, helping them to learn the skills they need to thrive”.
“We know that one of the major challenges for business is access to a skilled workforce, and it is one we must all work together to respond to,” he said. “It’s only by nurturing … the talents of Britain’s young people that we will be able to build the fair and prosperous society we all want to live in.”
After leaving the air ambulance service last year, Prince William has taken on more royal duties. He said government should play a part in encouraging more exporting and urged entrepreneurs to make use of the services available to them. “I’m always impressed as I go around the world how much our embassies know about British business, and their determination to help in foreign markets.”
He said holding the festival in Liverpool showed that businesses thrived across the UK. “It’s important to remind ourselves and the world that the majority of British commercial activity happens outside London and the southeast,” the prince said.
The bosses at Liverpool’s International Business Festival, a jamboree to promote trade and international investment that starts on Tuesday, are keeping a stiff upper lip amid the political turmoil around Brexit.
“When people are wondering about our position as a trading nation, the fact that we have secured more than 150 delegations from over 90 countries says business people want to meet their counterparts here at what will be the biggest business festival in the world,” said chairman Max Steinberg. The festival runs for nine days over three weeks with more than 100 speakers, including ARM Holdings chief Simon Segars and BA boss Alex Cruz. It will focus on themes such as global logistics, manufacturing and the creative industries.