Entrepreneurship has been a keen interest of mine for many years. My wife started her own business as a veterinary surgeon on Orkney. I know that through all the trials and tribulations there are great rewards and satisfaction that come with being your own boss. It has allowed her to fit her work around her life rather than fitting her life around her work. It may not suit everyone but for her and many thousands of others starting your own business offers opportunities not just to benefit financially but also to have a degree of control over their working life.
Yesterday I was in Glasgow to present awards to successful entrepreneurs who have benefited from the New Enterprise Allowance. The scheme supports jobseekers who want to become their own boss. It’s been a great success with over 40,000 businesses started across the UK since 2011. Glasgow, East Dunbartonshire, North and South Lanarkshire councils have been at the forefront of its success and yesterday’s event marked the 2,000th business to be started across the four local authorities. Great credit must go to everyone involved with reaching this outstanding milestone.
As I went to my next meeting I thought back to the last few months travelling the length and breadth of the country and the debate that continues today. Is Scotland still a land of entrepreneurship?
We of course have a proud history of creation and innovation. Penicillin, the television, the telephone and the steam engine all have Scottish roots. Inventors like John Logie Baird, Alexander Graham Bell and James Watt are world renowned and continue to be globally significant.
My time as Scottish Secretary visiting communities across the country has shown me that our history continues to inspire today. From a former charted accountant in Inverness who is now exporting gluten free produce across the globe through to an Edinburgh University spin off creating digital hologram products which are sold to the medical, scientific and engineering markets, there are entrepreneurs across the country making their mark.
Government’s role in entrepreneurship is as the enabler. We must be the ones who can help people thinking about starting their own business by giving them encouragement, support and access to finance. Entrepreneurs and new businesses are the lifeblood of the economy and help our communities to thrive. The New Enterprise Allowance, Start-Up Loans and the Technology Strategy Board are there to help budding entrepreneurs and innovators.
Over 30,000 new Scottish businesses were created last year. This shows me that the spirit of Scottish entrepreneurship remains strong but there is always more we can do.
People who have ideas, drive and determination must be encouraged as I have no doubt that out there is Scotland’s next great inventor.