International trade expected to boost SME growth by 25%, survey shows

According to research from EE, international trade will boost the growth of Britain’s SMEs by 25 per cent. 

The EE SME International Ambitions survey interviewed 1,000 businesses, as well as identifying the top target markets for small businesses.

Popular

The survey found that SMEs believe that international trade will help them grow over the next five years, and many small businesses are already trading abroad (40 per cent) or planning to trade abroad (6 per cent) by 2021.

The most popular target markets for small businesses are the US and Western Europe, with over 50 per cent of small businesses planning to expand in the US and over 80 per cent currently trading with or planning to trade with Western Europe.

The survey also identified which sectors are most likely to trade abroad, finding that manufacturing, marketing, media, IT, and telecoms businesses were the most likely to do so.

Ambitions

SMEs also revealed what they feel is most important for the success of their business when trading abroad.

Over 65 per cent said international calls were the most important, while 75 per cent chose access to mobile devices.

Commenting on the research, BT Director of SME Product Marketing Lydia Hicks said that it showed that “UK small and medium enterprises show no signs of holding back on their international business ambitions.”