A hardy thistle

The country of the thistle is known for its history in trade. From the 18th century onwards, Scotland has carried out business with the whole world, becoming one of the homes of the Industrial Revolution. The Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce carries on this tradition with a commitment that reflects local entrepreneurial dynamism.“Despite the crisis, we are the British Chamber which achieved the strongest growth in membership in 2007, with a 27% rise. We know how to address SMEs as efficiently as large companies – 90% of the latter are members. We organise 72 events per year, which are genuinely valuable for the entrepreneurs who attend. One third of the latter have been able to concretely use these occasions for business purposes. They are also moments when they can address members of the local and national government; during the last conference, the British Minister for Finance Alistair Darling was present,” explains the Chamber’s President, Ron Hewitt.The Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce takes advantage of its enviable location in the capital, on economic and political levels. Its small size (450,000 inhabitants) does not stop it from functioning at full speed: almost 50,000 jobs will be created in the next ten years. Its political balance has been modified since the devolution of different powers from the British Parliament in Westminster to the Scottish Parliament, created in 1997 and established in Edinburgh. The Scottish are, on the whole, happy to take advantage of their own decision-making centre which feels the urgency to respond to expectations all the more as its power is still young. Finally, this bloom of Scotland pushes London to pay greater attention to what is happening in its northern neighbour. The region remains a Labour Party bastion and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is Scottish. His party nevertheless underwent several upsets in the region during the by-elections. If he wants to keep his position in the next elections to be held shortly, he will first have to convince the Scottish.For all these reasons, the Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce, amongst the largest in Scotland along with the Chambers of Glasgow and Aberdeen, is playing a central role at the heart of the federation of the Chambers of Commerce of Scotland. “There is no one with whom we cannot rapidly put you into contact in Edinburgh and Scotland. Our structure is that of a company: we are obliged to produce results, therefore to provide sound services to our members in sectors such as human resources or the protection of entrepreneurial interests,” continues Ron Hewitt. The Scottish Chamber of Commerce has adopted the same structure for two years now. Leaving behind its associative status, it has become a private business accountable to its members and the 22 Chambers of Commerce spread out over the territory. “This works very well,” declares Liz Cameron, President of the Scottish Chamber of Commerce. “We have the country’s highest penetration rate and the second most profitable structure. The Chamber offers services that local chambers of commerce can offer to their members. We have thus set up a mentoring service, supported by Europe. We rely heavily on Edinburgh as the member service culture there is highly developed. We are endeavouring to make our practices adopted throughout Scotland so that service is standardised throughout the network. A member of our management council plays a part in the activities of the management council of the British Chamber of Commerce. We coordinate our activities; for example, we allow them to carry out lobbying on our behalf in London. But we remain independent entities. Scottish companies are free to become members of whichever chamber they choose.”Liz Cameron and Ron Hewitt both wish to remain confident in the months to come, in an attempt to not give in to the prevailing atmosphere of catastrophe. The current crisis will generate losses and access to credit will become more difficult, they concede, but “the Scottish economy is sufficiently diversified to resist.” The lack of manpower  will allow those who lose their jobs to find others rapidly. Above all, they say to their members, it is necessary to focus on the long term, and the next six months will provide a test for the solidity of their projects.