Business for Scotland and Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce

An exciting future for Dundee and Angus, says CEO Alison Henderson

I recently attended the Business for Scotland dinner as a guest of Tony Banks and Balhousie Care.  It was a great evening of fun and fund-raising, featuring the Piping Hot Dholies (an extraordinary fusion of traditional Scottish pipes and Indian Dhol drums).  The event was hosted by model, fashion designer and TV presenter Eunice Olumide, who is a member of Business for Scotland and an excellent speaker.

Another of the guests at Balhousie Care’s table was Alison Henderson, CEO of Dundee and Angus Chamber of Commerce (DACC).  We got talking and I was very impressed by her vision of what she wants to do with the Chamber.  Dundee is going through an exciting phase of growth at the moment, with the Waterfront redevelopment and the building of V&A Dundee, and Alison is keen that DACC should take every advantage of that.

Her vision is of a business community that makes Dundee and Angus a world class destination: a place that attracts inwards investment, where home-grown businesses can thrive, stay and grow, and where visitors from all over the world will come to enjoy everything the area has to offer.

Like all Chambers, DACC is all about businesses making connections and working together. Alison sees DACC as a catalyst for improvement and growth, for identifying new opportunities and developing new thinking.  She told me about the range of events the Chamber puts on, from breakfasts with the likes of John Swinney (also a guest at the Business for Scotland dinner) to visits to the Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design graduation show and lunch-tours of local enterprises.

Inspire may be based in Perth but we’re always looking to expand our horizons.  I was so taken with what Alison described to me that I decided to join the Dundee Chamber as well as the Perth one.  So here’s a big “thank you” to Tony Banks, not only for inviting me to the Business for Scotland event but also for the opportunity to meet Alison and, through her, to connect with businesses in Dundee and Angus.  I look forward to meeting members at an event very soon!