Borders Chamber Growing its Reach

The Scottish Borders Chamber of Commerce has been growing across the region and widening its reach nationally in recent weeks.

The Chamber’s AGM at Tweed Horizons brought a good turnout of directors and members during the day before attention turned to national events in the evening.

“The AGM was very encouraging,” said Chairman Trevor Jackson. “It was very positive and constructive, and great to see so many people there.”

“The feedback was very positive, particularly on how the Chamber has grown in the past year with membership doubling, the new levels of engagement, and what people feel about where the Chamber can go in the next year in terms of supporting Scottish Borders businesses to be heard.”

“We took the opportunity to lay out our strategic focus for developing the ‘vision, voice and visibility’ of businesses across the Scottish Borders. That was well received and, crucially, people were able to share their thoughts on where it hits the mark, where it doesn’t, and what we can do, in partnership, to bring it to life and create tangible impact for our members across the Scottish Borders.”

Trevor also represented Borders business at the Scottish Chamber Network event hosted by the First Minister John Swinney at Edinburgh Castle that evening.

“The purpose of such an event from my point of view is to listen to the First Minister,” he continued, “and gain insight to political thinking for the coming year, and to be able to put forwards the views of our rural businesses. On the whole I think we achieved both.”

“A key takeaway from the Network was the emphasis on strengthening collaboration between business and government to boost investment, exports and entrepreneurship – and those areas are key for us. So, it was really encouraging to hear the First Minister speak of his support for these areas and how his government will work with us.”

First Minister John Swinney commented: “My government is committed to growing the economy to generate the wealth to invest in our public services and eradicate child poverty. We want to use that investment to create a partnership between government and business that will make the most of Scotland’s many economic opportunities.”

Trevor was also one of a handful of local businesspeople invited to present to GlobalScot Connect at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre, as head of Jackson Distillers. That provided another opportunity to fly the Borders flag and network with industry leaders, entrepreneurs and investors from across the world, who all share an interest in supporting Scottish interests.

Back in the Borders, and a first SBCC Leaders Discussion, hosted by Duns Castle, returned the spotlight to opportunities for investment in the Borders. The SBCC event brought together a select group of businesspeople with politicians, including leader Euan Jardine and councillor John Greenwell from Scottish Borders Council, and was sponsored by the Foresight Group and Azets, two companies seeking to encourage investment to the Borders.

“That event went very well – with, inevitably, a lot of talk around that day’s budget announcement – but we had some very interesting conversations particularly with the sponsors and businesspeople who attended, and there was a real appetite for continuing the dialogue. So, we are looking at doing that into 2025.”

“But the past few weeks give an indication of the areas in which the Scottish Borders Chamber of Commerce is operating, and the sorts of partners we are engaging with. The purpose, however, is to give Borders business that vision, voice and visibility, and to achieve that we need businesses coming to us and working with us”.

“So, my hope is that we can double the membership again over the next year and strengthen the network we are building in the Scottish Borders.”

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