Global Scots-business support for Scottish Companies
I attended a very interesting meeting in Glasgow this week showcasing the Global Scot Network. This is a network of Scottish business people around the world, often in very senior positions, who have volunteered to provide advice and contacts to Scottish companies. This network is sometimes misunderstood as being geared up to help Scottish companies into export markets but in fact the support on offer is much broader than that.
Two of the network members described some of the support that they had provided to companies recently and also the support that they themselves had sought and obtained from the network. In one case a member had been able to provide access to decision makers in five major pharmaceutical companies during a small company’s visit to the US, another member with expertise in a particular field had helped a company refocus its product range to obtain better prices and a more differentiated market position, while in a third case a member had supported a company through meetings with a major player in a particular business sector leading to a substantial contract for the Scottish company and an ongoing and developing relationship with the network member.
A recurring theme of the evening was that very few companies access this support in spite of the fact that in most cases the help is given for free. This seems a sadly wasted opportunity.
Most recently a scheme has also been developed to give young Scots an opportunity of working in major corporations around the world with the support of local Global Scots.