Entrepreneurial Skills Event in Kelso

Award Winners Don't Do Holidays!

Apply today for the Scottish Borders Business Excellence Awards 2019.

Summer is officially here.

Traditionally a time when some take the proverbial foot off the gas, but while you are enjoying the summer sun (we hope), don't forget about submitting your application for this year's Scottish Borders Business Excellence Awards.

The region’s flagship business event, organised by the Scottish Borders Chamber of Commerce for the fifth successive year, is once again sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland and this year's closing date is Friday, August 16th 2019.

Don't delay, get your application submitted today.

Chair's Update

Our Chairperson, Moira Wilson, reflects on her first few weeks in her new role.

It’s been a busy first few weeks since assuming the position of Chairperson for the Scottish Borders Chamber of Commerce. My first official engagement was meeting the judges for the Scottish Borders Business Excellence Awards to discuss their exciting, but exhausting role. Nominations close on Friday 16^th August and given that we had in excess of 150 applications last year, I expect this number to be much higher this year.

I then attended the latest cascade from the South of Scotland Enterprise Partnership Event (SoSEP), in conjunction with Skills Development Scotland which was hosted by Borders College, aimed at Education and Skills within the South of Scotland. The startling statistics presented at the event were that for the South of Scotland to maintain its current production levels, we need to attract and retain 800 people in this area, every year. The other being, if we don’t retain or attract talented young people and families, by 2040 the majority of our population will be over 75 years of age.

Finally, I launched our first Speed Networking event at Heart of Hawick, sponsored by GB Technologies and Live Borders and coordinated by McGowan Marketing. Support for the event far surpassed expectations and was a sell-out. The feedback from the event, from the businesses who attended, was very positive. Watch this space as another event will be on the cards in the not too distant future!

Speed Networking Success!

The first Scottish Borders Chamber of Commerce Speed Networking event was held on Friday 21st of June at the Heart of Hawick.

MBTAG Launches New Toolkit

Midlothian & Borders Tourism Action Group (MBTAG) have just launched a brand new toolkit for the tourism businesses in Midlothian & the Scottish Borders as part of their industry development programme.

The toolkit gives businesses access to relevant information in one place, featuring key insights and data to help deepen their understanding of target markets and how to engage with them directly through the travel trade. The target markets covered include the UK, Germany and North America, including Canada. Click here to download the full toolkit.

There's also a summary toolkit available with a simple snapshot presenting the key highlights – available here to download from the MBTAG website.

At the Royal Highland Show

Board Director, Jack Clark with Keith Crombie from The Royal Bank of Scotland and Keith Redpath, from Kelso, at this yea's Royal Highland Show.