A pioneering new project by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), in partnership with NatWest and the British Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, is aiming to scale up UK exports.

The six-month pilot programme, the Singapore Life Sciences Trade Accelerator, will connect UK firms in the sector with the burgeoning South-East Asian market for their products.

It will talent-spot up to 30 SMEs, with the greatest potential to grow sales in South-East Asia, and provide them with a bespoke service to enter the market.

The ambitious scheme has been designed in close co-operation with the British Chamber of Commerce in Singapore. It is also supported by the Department for Business and Trade, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK Export Finance, Innovate UK and the Singapore Economic Development Board.

The move comes as the latest BCC research reveals the number of businesses reporting increased export orders has fallen from 31% in Q2 2018 to 22% in Q4 2025.

If the value of UK exports had been just 2% higher in 2024, GDP growth would have been around 1.75% instead of 1.1%.

The lessons learned from the pilot will be used to further develop and scale up support for British export-ready businesses to other sectors and markets. These will include the US, India, the Gulf and wider Indo-Pacific region, using the BCC’s worldwide Chamber network.

Robert Begbie, CEO Commercial and Institutional at NatWest, said: “As the UK’s biggest bank for business, helping ambitious UK firms turn innovation into international growth is central to NatWest’s Growing Together plan. The Singapore Life Sciences Trade Accelerator is about delivery – giving export ready businesses the finance, confidence and connections they need to scale into new markets.

“By combining NatWest’s commercial expertise with the global reach of the British Chambers of Commerce, this programme will help high growth firms win overseas, create jobs and drive sustainable UK wide growth. It’s about practical, end to end support that helps businesses win contracts, attract investment and create high value jobs here in the UK.

“This pilot shows how partnerships can unlock growth at pace – and why initiatives like this will play a vital role in helping UK businesses compete and succeed on the world stage.”

David Kelly, Executive Director of the British Chamber of Commerce Singapore, said: “Singapore offers a uniquely powerful platform for UK life sciences firms. With regulatory clarity, deep capital markets and regional connectivity, it is the ideal launchpad into the wider South-East Asian market.

“Through the Chamber’s local expertise and networks, we will connect UK SMEs directly to the buyers, investors and decision-makers who can turn opportunity into contracts.”

George Freeman MP, UK Trade Envoy to Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei & the Philippines and former UK Minister for Life Sciences, said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated a global race for sovereign life science technology capability. As a life science superpower, the UK has a major opportunity to both attract inward investment and accelerate access for UK technologies and companies to fast growth ASEAN markets.

“The UK Singapore Chamber Trade Accelerator is a great initiative to help fast-track world-class UK innovation into one of the most sophisticated health and biotech markets on the planet, giving brilliant British firms the commercial edge, regulatory clarity and investor access they need to scale faster, smarter, and with confidence across Asia.”

Chris Bryant, Minister for Trade, said: “This initiative is a welcome step, offering practical targeted support to help ambitious British companies break into one of the world’s most dynamic markets.

“Singapore is a gateway into the wider Asia Pacific, and this pilot will give UK innovators the backing they need to turn their export potential into export reality, working hand in hand with industry to get more British firms of all sizes selling overseas, driving growth and high value jobs across the UK.”

Steve Lynch MBE, Director of International Trade at the BCC, said: “The UK does not have a strategy gap; it has a delivery gap. We have no shortage of innovation. What we’ve lacked is a coordinated, commercially driven system to convert that into export contracts at scale.

“For too long, the policy development of trade strategies has kept businesses at arms-length, leaving firms, especially SMEs, to navigated global markets alone. The Trade Accelerator will change that.

“Singapore is our launchpad into a much wider regional market, which is the fastest growing in the world for life sciences and health innovation. If our firms can succeed there, they can compete anywhere.