Scotland is rising up the ranks of the top entrepreneurial nations, the Entrepreneurial Scotland (ES) conference at Gleneagles was told yesterday.
A world class line up of international speakers shared their business journeys at the annual summit, which had the theme of ‘global mindset’.
Among the speakers were Jo Fairley, founder of chocolate brand Green and Black’s, creator of Shortlist magazine Mike Soutar and Steven Gray of leading subsea remote vehicle firm Rovop.
Welcoming delegates to the event, ES chairman Colin Robertson said the work of the member network was making a global impact.
He said: “Our ambition to help Scotland become the most entrepreneurially successful society in the world has been noticed.
“Just recently, an update to the global entrepreneurship index found Scotland had gone into the upper quartile in world rankings, rising from 15th to 12th.
“The proportion of women starting business has risen significantly and our early stage entrepreneurial activity has caught up with the rest of the UK. The gender gap has reduced in Scotland.
“This means Scotland is now working to get up among the leading entrepreneurial nations.”
Other speakers at the event included The Student Hotel CEO Charlie MacGregor, Alan McIntyre, a New York-based banking leader for Accenture and Gust CEO David Rose.
Crop One Holdings founder Sonia Lo and Hugh Griffith, chief executive of NuCana, also presented.
Mr Robertson, who is the chief executive of Falkirk bus firm Alexander Dennis, took over the ES chairman position from Dundee tech entrepreneur Chris van der Kuyl.
He added: “We have some of Scotland’s most successful and inspiring business leaders in this room today
“There’s a fantastic buzz in the room. If you can bottle that entrepreneurial spirit and energy and spread it across Scotland PLC with a global mindset we can do great things.”
rmclaren@thecourier.co.uk