Macsween of Edinburgh has launched its vegetarian haggis for the US market in time for Burns Night, making this the company’s first export to America in nearly 50 years.

Branded in the US as “Scottish Veggie Crumble”, Macsween’s haggis is available in 14 Fairway Market stores across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Despite there still being a US import ban on traditional haggis, Macsween decided to export its award-winning vegetarian haggis for the free-from, planted-based and vegan market. The launch of the “Scottish Veggie Crumble” means there’s a seat at the table for everyone this Burns Night no matter your dietary requirements.

James Macsween, Managing Director of Macsween of Edinburgh, said:

We at Macsween are delighted to be exporting again to the USA after 49 years!

Finally, Americans and the expat community can enjoy the UK’s most loved haggis brand known for its award-winning taste and texture. This is a huge milestone for Macsween to be expanding internationally and leading the way in plant-based food exports.

My grandfather, Charlie, would be very proud to see how far we’ve come from his original butcher’s shop in Bruntsfield which he opened back in 1953. My father John Macsween would also be proud as he invented the world’s first vegetarian haggis in 1984.

Macsween has already sent 360 cases of “Scottish Veggie Crumble” to the US this month, and the iconic haggis producer is currently in the process of appointing a sales agent in the US to support its international expansion.

The US remains the top destination for Scottish goods, and in the year to September 2019 Scottish goods exports to the country were worth £4.3 billion. This was an increase of 8% on the previous year, with food and drink accounting for 30% of exports.

Meanwhile in the UK, Macsween is the most loved haggis and vegetarian haggis brand with a 60% share of the vegan haggis market according to a ScotPulse survey in November 2019.

International Trade Secretary, Liz Truss said:

It’s great to see Macsween enter the US market for the first time, giving Scots in America a taste of home this Burns Night.

The US is the second biggest export market for Scotland, and a new free trade agreement will make it easier for businesses to sell their goods in the US, which will encourage growth and create jobs for people in Scotland.

In 2017, Macsween made history when it became the first company to export haggis to Canada since 1971, after developing a new recipe that meets the country’s food safety regulations.

• Application process underway as government ministers and business leaders attend first ever UK-Africa Investment Summit
• Africa has a fast-growing tech sector which is driving growth and creating jobs on the continent

Some of Africa’s most innovative start-ups are invited to take part in a global tech project to take their businesses and ideas to the next level.

Go Global Africa, a scheme run by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport through its International Tech Hub Network, aims to build links with the UK’s thriving digital sector and pave the way for future economic partnerships.

The successful programme, which first launched last year, is currently open to firms from Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa developing tech solutions in finance, agriculture, health and clean energy.

Entrepreneurs who have developed products that are ready to go to market and already raised investment are invited to apply.

Digital Minister Matt Warman said:

Africa is home to a rapidly growing tech sector and it is great to welcome leading figures from across the continent to the UK-Africa Investment summit.

Through the Go Global Africa project we are giving entrepreneurs the support they need to grow their business and benefit from the UK’s world-leading tech and innovation expertise. This will allow them to continue developing technology to improve lives around the world.

I encourage all those with the talent and ambition to succeed to apply for a place on this exciting project.

Africa is home to a rapidly growing tech sector. Its start-ups raised 50 per cent more venture capital in 2017 than in 2016. The majority of this is being invested in South Africa (£130 million), Kenya (£114 million) and Nigeria (£89 million).

Nigeria’s tech sector generates more than 10 per cent of the country’s economic output and the sector is projected to create three million jobs and generate £67.4 billion for the economy by 2021.

Kenya’s technology sector is growing rapidly and is worth more than 11 percent of the country’s economic output. It is considered one of the most vibrant, advanced and successful in Africa.

South Africa attracted a record amount of investment in tech of any African country in 2017. It raised almost £128m and research by the World Economic Forum ranks it as the best place to do business in Africa.

The Digital Access Programme aims to boost digital skills and connectivity and build the cybersecurity capacity of partner countries. It will also help create a thriving digital ecosystem that will stimulate innovation to address local development challenges, create skilled jobs and generate partnerships between the UK and Africa.

The launch of Go Global Africa 2020 coincides with the start of the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London which will bring together businesses, governments and international institutions to showcase and promote investment opportunities across Africa.

Attendees include the participants of the Africa-UK: Female Tech Founders 2020 programme which will see 15 of Africa’s most ambitious women entrepreneurs visit the UK for a three-day programme to learn how to grow their business, access world-class mentoring from UK tech leaders and network with investors.

Notes to editors

For media queries please contact 0207 211 2090.

For interview opportunities with one of the female tech founders are available for interview, please contact the above number.

Today’s launch follows the first successful Go Global Africa programme last year which saw eighteen ambitious tech startups from Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa visit London. They exchanged ideas, learned how to scale and grow their business, and showcased their innovations across fintech, healthtech, agritech and waste to investors and leading figures from the UK’s tech sector.

South African fintech company GLU, graduates of Go Global Africa 2019, landed two more significant global (Africa/Europe) deals resulting in a positive cash flow position and allowed them to expand their team.

The successful African startups from Go Global Africa 2020 will be expected to act as Go Global champions and share the skills they have learned with other firms across the continent. This will help spread digital skills, digital capability and increase entrepreneurial spirit, creating jobs and prosperity.

According to the World Economic Forum, Africa’s early-stage entrepreneurial activity is 13 percent higher than the global average. Lagos, Nairobi and Cape Town have emerged as internationally recognised technology centers, hosting thousands of startups and organisations that support them, including the Tech Hubs.

The scheme will help firms in the host country make links with UK start-ups in new markets and benefit from the expertise in our booming tech ecosystem, which according to Tech Nation is worth £184 billion to the economy every year.

The government announced the UK-Nigeria, UK-Kenya and UK-South Africa tech hubs in August 2018. The hubs are one pillar of a broader Digital Access Programme which aims to boost digital inclusion across Africa.

Outline of Go Global Africa 2020

Judges will select the most promising start-ups at events in Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa where shortlisted firms will benefit from a 3-day masterclass. Here they will learn key business skills, gain technical expertise and bespoke mentoring from experienced entrepreneurs to help them scale their business.

Winners from the events will then be invited to travel to the UK in March 2020. Start-ups will benefit from a five-day training programme designed to improve their business skills, build links with the UK’s thriving digital sector and pave the way for future economic partnerships.

Africa-UK: Female Tech Founders participants

Nigeria

• Damilola Olokesusi, Shuttlers Mobility
• Ifeoma Hope Uddoh, Shecluded
• Damilola Emuze, ScholarX
• Funmi Adewara, Mobihealth International
• Keturah Ovio, Limestart

Kenya

• Lucy Njuguna, Nurse in Hand Emergency Response
• Nyambura Kamau, Viwanda Africa Group
• Muthoni Masinde, Itiki
• Kate Kiguru, Ukall Apps
• Cindy Adem, Village2nation

South Africa

• Tebogo Mokwena, Akiba Digital
• Nobukhosi Diamini, Bahati Tech
• Mandisa Mjamba, Relay Africa
• Jaishree Naidoo, Envisionit
• Tina Fisher, Snapnsave

Ghana is changing the narrative around the future of the African Continent. Last year, the nation captured international headlines and energised the global African Diaspora through the ‘Year of Return’.

I am delighted that thousands came from the UK to be a part of the campaign; tourism from the UK was up 24%. The presence of so many Brit-Ghanaian influencers has fostered even stronger ties with Ghana. Brit-Ghanaians were front and centre at the major music festivals that took place in Accra over Christmas. The real story of Ghana is out there – one of aspiration, ambition and energy, and a journey to greater economic self-reliance.

The UK Government shares His Excellency President Akufo-Addo’s ‘Beyond Aid’ vision for Africa. The Continent has 8 of the 15 fastest growing economies in the world but currently receives less than 4% of foreign direct investment. It is in all our interests to change this paradigm.

A Major Milestone

Today, Prime Minister Boris Johnson hosts the UK-Africa Investment Summit in London. The Summit brings together UK and African businesses, African leaders, international institutions and young entrepreneurs. It is the platform for creating new partnerships to deliver more investment, jobs and growth to benefit people across Africa and the UK.

Ghana is driving the agenda for how Africa can meet its needs and ambitions: locating the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat in Accra is recognition of Ghanaian leadership. When they meet in London, His Excellency The President and the Prime Minister will discuss the future of the UK-Ghana prosperity partnership that is accelerating ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’, with economic development, investment and jobs at its core.

Our 0.7% of GNI (Gross National Income) spend on development is smarter than ever. A new Agricultural Transformation Programme will develop new agriculture markets and climate resilience; our Jobs & Economic Transformation Programme is attracting investment and creating jobs in key industrial sectors; and new programmes are supporting urban infrastructure development, deepening financial markets, improving land governance and helping women entrepreneurs.

A UK-Ghana Partnership Focused on Action

Our deeds matter more than our words. We have applied this principle to the creation of the UK-Ghana Business Council (UKGBC), an economic forum co-chaired by His Excellency The Vice President Alhaji Dr Mahamudu Bawumia and UK Ministers.

The UKGBC is driving the partnership around six priority sectors (financial services, agro-processing, extractives, garments, digital and pharmaceuticals); bringing a clear focus to the partnership; and shaping an integrated offer that brings together UK firms, capital and expertise.

Global finance, through The City of London, is crowding in more investment; and supporting innovation, such as the first London-listed ‘Cedi Bond’. The creation of a new partnership between the London Stock Exchange and the Ghana Stock Exchange will support Ghana’s ambition to secure ‘emerging market’ status and become a hub for financial services.

Bilateral trade is worth £1.3 billion, up 21% on last year. Significantly, we are seeing Ghana export more goods and services to the UK (up 55%) – a positive sign of Ghana’s economic transformation and export-orientated growth.

UK firms are taking notice, and we are backing them through $1billion of credit guarantees from UK Export Finance. I’m delighted that this facility is fully utilised in Ghana, including: $400 million for the Offshore Cape Three Points project by GE Oil and Gas UK; and recently the expansion of Kumasi Airport and upgrading Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital by Contracta UK.

There are many exciting UK-led projects on the horizon, including Africa’s first green loan to Aqua Africa to bring UK-designed technology to deliver clean drinking water; and work by Ordnance Survey to create a full-scale digital map of Ghana, and digitalise the land registry system.

Beyond the European Union

Our trading relationship is even more important as we look beyond the European Union and finalise the EU Withdrawal Agreement on 31 January. I am pleased that we can continue to apply the same trading arrangements with Ghana for the duration of the Implementation Period, i.e. until 31 December 2020.

Before then, we must further trade policy discussions to ensure we maintain Ghana’s duty-free and quota-free access to the UK in 2021 and beyond. This will protect Ghanaian jobs and support foreign investment.

I am confident about the future of the UK-Ghana relationship and of our ambition to become the investment partner of choice for Africa.

Whichever way you look at it, Ghana is at the centre of the development of the African Continent, and the UK-Ghana partnership offers a blueprint. The UK-Africa Investment Summit is the next big step forward on that journey.

• PM calls for UK to be the ‘investment partner of choice’ for African countries

• Summit will generate new opportunities in Africa for businesses across the UK

• PM announces the Government will no longer provide any direct support for thermal coal mining or coal power plants overseas

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will make the case for the UK as the ‘investment partner of choice’ for African countries at a major investment summit in London today.

He will say the UK has unique expertise and innovation in technology, clean growth, infrastructure and finance which can feed the continent’s demand for sustainable growth.

The UK-Africa Investment Summit, hosted by the Prime Minister, will bring together 21 African countries with UK and African companies. This is the first time governments and businesses from the UK and Africa have come together for an event of this scale.

Deals worth billions of pounds will be announced at the Summit. These will drive jobs and growth in all parts of the UK and in Africa, benefitting a range of British companies from family firms to major multinationals. All new investments will reflect the Prime Minister’s commitment to build long-term, sustainable relationships in Africa underpinned by our values and high standards.

The Prime Minister will use his opening speech to illustrate this modern partnership with examples of UK businesses like Dorset-based Low Energy Designs, which is installing smart street lighting across Nigeria, Northern Irish firm Lagan which has won the contract to build a business park in Uganda, and Diageo which is investing £167 million to build a state of the art, environmentally friendly breweries in Kenya and wider East Africa. At the Summit, the Prime Minister will announce an end to UK support for thermal coal mining or coal power plants overseas, ending direct Official Development Assistance, investment and export credit.

This announcement forms part of the UK’s wider commitment to use its expertise and experience to help Africa transition away from fossil fuels towards renewable, sustainable forms of clean energy. In 2019 the UK went a record 83 days without generating electricity from coal. The UK was also the first major economy to set a legally binding target to reach net zero emissions by 2050 and Glasgow will host the COP UN Climate Change Summit later this year.

The Prime Minister will meet the 16 African leaders attending the Summit including President Sisi of Egypt, President Kenyatta of Kenya, President Buhari of Nigeria, President Akufo-Addo of Ghana and President Kagame of Rwanda, and African business leaders including CEO of Standard Bank Gert Vogel and CEO of Investec Hendrik Du Toit.

He will also meet prominent UK business leaders including the CEO of Vodafone Nick Read, CEO of BP Bernard Looney, CEO of Standard Life Aberdeen Keith Skeoch, CEO G4S Ashley Martin Almanza, CEO of Associated British Foods George Weston, and CEO of the London Stock Exchange Group David Schwimmer.

The Prime Minister will also visit the Summit’s ‘Business and Innovation Hub’, where he will meet young entrepreneurs from the UK and Africa and try out examples of their creative technology that is improving lives across the world.

The Summit will involve a number of sessions with speakers from government and business in the UK and Africa. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, Development Secretary Alok Sharma, Trade Secretary Elizabeth Truss and Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom will also be representing the UK Government.

On Monday evening the Prime Minister, African Heads of State and Government and a number of British and African business leaders will attend a reception at Buckingham Palace hosted by the Duke of Cambridge.

A statutory inquiry into a Gloucester community centre has addressed failings in the running of the charity. The former trustees of All Nations Community Centre (ANCC, registered charity 1111832) did not recognise the centre as a charity despite it being registered and established as such.

The Charity Commission investigated ANCC after the charity failed to file required financial information for over 5 years. The Commission was concerned that the charity’s property could be at risk, after a former trustee said that they wanted to de-register as soon as possible. The inquiry took protective action to vest the property in the Official Custodian of Charities.

The regulator held a meeting with the former trustees and found that they were not aware of their legal duties as trustees, including to file accounts.

The charity had taken over the Jamaican Sports and Social Club and Community Centre building in 2007. The charity was registered with general charitable purposes around community development, however investigators found no transactions on bank statements that appeared charitable. The centre’s main activity was the running of a bar, which the law does not permit as charitable. A charity can generate income through a trading subsidiary that runs a bar, so the inquiry provided the trustees with advice and instruction around changing the structure of the charity to bring its governance arrangements in line with the law.

Two serious crimes that occurred in 2015 and 2017 near the charity’s premises after events held there also gave rise to concern over whether the former trustees were running the charity in a way that promoted public confidence or protected its reputation as such. Neither incident was reported in line with the Commission’s guidance on reporting serious incidents, though the inquiry did find that the trustees worked closely with Gloucester constabulary to resolve issues.

Further information is set out in the report, which also notes that the charity failed to hold an AGM for several years, breaching rules of governance which stated that an AGM should be held every 15 months.

The former trustees’ failings are considered misconduct and/or mismanagement in the administration of the charity, though the inquiry acknowledges that some were a result of them not recognising ANCC as a charity. The charity has been issued and complied with formal regulatory advice under the Charities Act to address concerns, including around ensuring the financial viability of the charity.

The former trustees cooperated with the inquiry and submitted required outstanding accounting information to the Commission. In June 2018 an AGM was held, resulting in changes to the trustee board. The inquiry has since met with the new board to ensure they understand how to carry out their roles properly.

Following this, the inquiry was satisfied that the charity’s property was no longer at risk, and the order vesting it in the Official Custodian of Charities was discharged. The charity has also now set up a separate trading subsidiary to run the bar.

The Commission will be monitoring the progress of the charity with a follow up visit.

Amy Spiller, Head of Investigations Team at the Charity Commission said:

This charity is clearly valued in the community and has an important role to bring people together, and so the issues we found were disappointing. Being a charity trustee is an important role, and this case highlights the problems that can develop if trustees do not understand their responsibilities or seek appropriate professional advice.

Our inquiry has been crucial in enabling the charity to establish proper governance arrangements and procedures for the benefit of the community it was set up to help. I am pleased that the trustees have made progress and demonstrated a willingness to address our concerns. I hope and expect that this will continue so that the charity is able to thrive in the future.

The full report of the inquiry is available on GOV.UK.

Ends.

Notes to editors:

1. A books and records review carried out by the inquiry in 2018 found no evidence that charitable funds had been misapplied or misappropriated.
2. The Charity Commission has the power to make an order under section 76 (3)(c) of the Charities’ Act to vest charity property in the Official Custodian of Charities where there is a risk to charity property. More information is available on GOV.UK.
3. The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales. To read more about our work, see the About Us page on GOV.UK.