Scottish Development International (SDI) is the Scottish Government’s international economic agency. Founded in 2001 with headquarters in Glasgow aim to support International Trade as well as Foreign Direct Investments. The support is very much tailored to company needs. We work very closely with Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and the new South of Scotland Enterprise. We have 200+ employees worldwide in approximately 34 different offices in 24 countries. Most of our offices are co-located within British Embassies which means that the Scottish companies we work with, have access to us as well as our friends from DIT and the wider embassy and consulate departments.
On the trade side, support could be for example:
- Identifying market opportunities and market intelligence
- Organising overseas exhibitions and trade missions
- Facilitating connections and business relationships
- We work with a large network of so-called Global Scots. They are prominent business leaders who help open doors for Scottish companies
- We also do strategy workshops and offer technical export assistance
On the inward side, again, the offer is tailored to individual needs. So for examples, this could be:
- Support in identifying suitable sites
- Support with training and recruitment
- Access to finance
- Help with identifying suitable partnerships with universities or research institutes, local government
More information can be found here: Scottish Development International (sdi.co.uk). Please do not hesitate to contact Lena Grupinska, Senior Trade Manager responsible for Poland and Baltics: lena.grupinska@scotent.co.uk or David Decrock, Regional Manager Southern Europe & Europe Lead for Energy: David.decrock@scotent.co.uk.