Scottish firms looking to emerge out of the recession stronger than before are being encouraged to make global connections with the return of the country’s largest international business conference.

The second GlobalScot International Conference, taking place at the Glasgow Hilton Hotel on November 2nd, offers Scottish businesses the chance to meet with some of the world’s top business leaders and explore opportunities for growth.

Bringing together over 130 GlobalScot members and 200 ambitious Scottish entrepreneurs, the conference seeks to develop and expand Scotland's standing in the global business community as well as giving practical examples of how innovation and creativity can provide a means to survive and prosper in today’s economic environment.

GlobalScot’s iInternational networks director, Irene Johnstone, said:

“Growing businesses and internationalising are crucial for Scotland’s future economic prosperity. Global mobility has never been more critical and countries beginning to come out of the recession are those countries that are mobile and can compete on the global stage. To do that, we need to look at all the opportunities available to companies and to businesses.

“In today’s climate, it is more important than ever for Scottish companies to exploit business opportunities in new markets, particularly overseas. Scotland suffers from a lack of large companies of scale. For companies to grow, they need to think differently, they need to understand who their competitors are, where there customers are. That is absolutely critical as we will never grow the business base just in Scotland. That’s why the GlobalScot conference is crucial for firms who have the talent and desire to expand their businesses domestically and internationally.”

This year’s speakers include Sir Tom Hunter, Virgin Galactic president Will Whitehorn, Chevron’s vice chairman Peter J Robertson and Jumeriah’s CEO Guy Crawford.

And whilst international companies are crucial for Scotland’s economic growth, Johnstone recognises that many SMEs are still struggling to survive the current economic conditions.

She said: “Companies need to address the immediate factors that will determine survival and for many internationalisation is not the immediate answer. For companies to take that big step, they absolutely have to be ready, their businesses have to be ready.

“Scottish Enterprise can offer a lot of support for companies that are experiencing difficulties during this downturn. Similarly, when there are companies that are in a stronger position, where they see there is an opportunity to enter new markets, we can offer them that support and that’s certainly what this conference is for. We’re sympathetic to the difficult times many companies are having. But we shouldn’t lose sight that there are many companies in Scotland that, despite the recession, are continuing to grow and have ambitious plans.”

For conference tickets and further information on GlobalScot, visit www.globalscot.com

GlobalScot Conference 2009
2nd November 2009
Glasgow Hilton Hotel