The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Elevator looking to lift Scottish firms on to international stage
Contract win sees support organisation deliver global training
A leading business support organisation has announced a “significant contract award” from Scottish Development International (SDI).
Elevator, which has centres for entrepreneurship in Dundee and Aberdeen, will support SDI with its International e-Trade Framework, delivering worldwide training and one-to-one advice to businesses across Scotland who are seeking to trade on the international stage.
The contract will run for two years, with a possible extension for a further two years.
The organisation will also run networking events to coordinate international business support initiatives. The initiatives are aimed at increasing international growth knowledge and business-to-business networking opportunities.
Professor Gary McEwan, Elevator chief executive, said: “This contract is of great strategic importance to us.
“It comes at an opportune time, and signifies our strong commitment to support businesses as they look to identify new opportunities in this fastgrowing sector.
“We have a solid relationship with SDI, previously working together to stage international events where we have witnessed first-hand the appetite SMEs have for international support,” he said.
“Now is the time to harness these synergies to increase the range and scale of support available for international e-commerce and generate new opportunities.
SDI is the the international arm of the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise.
Neil Francis, director of global trade at SDI, said there has been an exponential growth in the e-commerce sector during the period of lockdown so they had to support companies across Scotland in developing their digital capabilities to ensure they can take advantage of future online trading opportunities.