Scots businesses are rising to meet modern economic challenge
07 Jan 2008
RISK-TAKING and a willingness to make bold decisions by businessmen and women are key to a successful enterprising economy.
The record number of businesses in Scotland – with more than one business an hour registered during 2006 – shows that the Scots entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well.
Scottish businesses are benefiting from the longest and most stable economic conditions the UK has ever seen.
And it is small and medium-sized firms that are the backbone of our economy.
There are now more small and medium-sized firms across the UK than ever before – four and a half million of them, employing more than 13 million people.
The UK has a good international record on enterprise, with the most entrepreneurial people in the EU. According to the World Bank, the UK is the sixth easiest place in the world to do business.
Our economic framework – and stable economic environment is envied by international competitors.
The UK is experiencing the longest unbroken economic expansion on record and is the only major economy to enjoy continuous growth over the past ten years. This, coupled with low inflation and interest rates, has reduced uncertainty and encouraged entrepreneurial activity in Scotland.
There has been a 20 per cent increase in the number of Scottish businesses since the start of 1999; businesses which now employ almost two million people. And that means more profit, growth, jobs and prosperity for Scotland. Scottish businesses also benefit from the wider UK marketplace, giving access to more customers and services.
Today, Scots enjoy the highest incomes outside London and the South and East of England. Over the past ten years, Scotland's unemployment rate has fallen by 40 per cent.
Scotland and the UK should be proud of this record. But the pressures of globalisation mean we must adapt. Compared with the United States' record on growing businesses, ours is not as good.
Far more firms on the other side of the Atlantic are growing into bigger firms, with gains to their economy and employment. And their contribution from female entrepreneurs is also much greater.
If we matched US levels of female entrepreneurship, there would be 700,000 more businesses in the UK.
It is because of these challenges that the government is working on a UK framework for enterprise policy.
And that is why David Cairns, the Scotland Office minister, and I will today be talking to Scottish businesses and listening closely to what they think needs to be done to boost entrepreneurship across Britain, and so close the gap with our counterparts across the Atlantic.
If we are all to continue to prosper and succeed economically, entrepreneurial businessmen and women from Scotland must work with colleagues across the UK to rise to these challenges.
Scottish businesses are benefiting from the longest and most stable economic conditions the UK has ever seen.
And it is small and medium-sized firms that are the backbone of our economy.
There are now more small and medium-sized firms across the UK than ever before – four and a half million of them, employing more than 13 million people.
The UK has a good international record on enterprise, with the most entrepreneurial people in the EU. According to the World Bank, the UK is the sixth easiest place in the world to do business.
Our economic framework – and stable economic environment is envied by international competitors.
The UK is experiencing the longest unbroken economic expansion on record and is the only major economy to enjoy continuous growth over the past ten years. This, coupled with low inflation and interest rates, has reduced uncertainty and encouraged entrepreneurial activity in Scotland.
There has been a 20 per cent increase in the number of Scottish businesses since the start of 1999; businesses which now employ almost two million people. And that means more profit, growth, jobs and prosperity for Scotland. Scottish businesses also benefit from the wider UK marketplace, giving access to more customers and services.
Today, Scots enjoy the highest incomes outside London and the South and East of England. Over the past ten years, Scotland's unemployment rate has fallen by 40 per cent.
Scotland and the UK should be proud of this record. But the pressures of globalisation mean we must adapt. Compared with the United States' record on growing businesses, ours is not as good.
Far more firms on the other side of the Atlantic are growing into bigger firms, with gains to their economy and employment. And their contribution from female entrepreneurs is also much greater.
If we matched US levels of female entrepreneurship, there would be 700,000 more businesses in the UK.
It is because of these challenges that the government is working on a UK framework for enterprise policy.
And that is why David Cairns, the Scotland Office minister, and I will today be talking to Scottish businesses and listening closely to what they think needs to be done to boost entrepreneurship across Britain, and so close the gap with our counterparts across the Atlantic.
If we are all to continue to prosper and succeed economically, entrepreneurial businessmen and women from Scotland must work with colleagues across the UK to rise to these challenges.
