The corporation is the local authority for London's Square Mile, home to mainly business and financial institutions and with only 7,000 residents.

Edwards said the Local Procurement Project aims to encourage buyers to seek more goods and services from neighbouring boroughs, including Hackney and Lewisham, which are much poorer than Britain's wealthiest local authority.

"The project is part of a regeneration of local economies and we are promoting this through procurement practices," she said.

"There has been a lot of good work developing the local small and medium-sized suppliers in neighbouring boroughs, but not much work on stimulating demand from the corporation."

Edwards moves from the NHS, where she was helping to establish NHS U, a training programme for employees.

Before this, she was in financial and procurement management consultancy and project management roles in London, as well in her native South Africa.