2018...a Year in Business to Remember

I am delighted to be able to say a massive THANK YOU to the Chamber team, board of directors and everyone who has supported us during 2018.

The team have again put all their best efforts into ensuring we had another succcessful year at DACC...so many highs and things to look back on with huge pleasure.

We started with a huge milestone; passing the British Chamber of Commerce Accreditation process and becoming the 53rd BCC accredited chamber in their network. We also learned we were the fastest growing Chamber in their network to year end 2017, so that was a fantastic achievement.

We closed off Q1 with the incredibly successful office move, as we made 37 City Quay our - and our members' - new home. An amazing space to work from, a new Enterprise Partnership with Hillcrest Housing Association and a place for members to drop-in, co-work, and hold meetings & events in.

The summer saw the momentous launch of our in-house export documentation service, fulfilling our Department of International Trade Issuing Body status, and further building on the International Trade services that we are very proud of.

We grew our membership numbers yet again - closing the year at 736 members - we welcomed new Platinum Partners, delivered an events & marketing programme for members that makes many other Chambers envious and a stunning new magazine ConnectED - bringing business editorial news to you in a fresh exciting format.

Our team saw some new faces and goodbyes in the year too - we welcomed Dominikas Stoncius to the team as we employed our very first Apprentice and Lauren McGurk came on board for an internship - we're delighted to now have her on a permanent basis in her role as International Trade & Events Assistant. We waved farewell to Shirley Taylor who was a long-standing and very much missed member of the team. Hayley Kemp joined us International Trade & Finance Assistant and in August Ehsan Aslam joined us on a pre-apprenticeship year from the Future Skills College.

This year has also seen us involved in really vital partnership programmes, working to support Angie Foreman in her role as Regional Director of the Coca-Cola 5by20 programme, delivering our part of the Circular Tayside project, continued partnership with Developing the Young Workforce and running the George R Donald schools enterprise challenge, we’re making a REAL difference to local businesses and setting the Chamber at the heart of the business community.

During the year Donna Bell, our Office Manager, has worked with so many members & suppliers to make our offices the perfect place to build for the future.

Simon Rolfe ensured we were attracting new members across Dundee & Angus and with Dan made sure that we looked after existing members, building a stronger chamber for our region. Helping businesses engage with the Chamber community and get the most out of their membership is very important to us.

Dan Cargill now has an expanded role as Membership Services Manager responsible for driving member engagement, take-up of Member Services (HR, Legal, Westfield Health etc) and leading the international trade activity.

Sarah Young has been the backbone of our high quality events programme, delivering over 70 events with more than 3000 attendees. She also ensures that our website and social media channels remain a powerful source for business and member news, with over 1500 news & events articles shared for members. Those news & events articles are shared across our social media channels meaning the online reach this year will exceed 2.25 million people.

Our role as the voice of the business community has seen us engage as Co-Chair of the Dundee Work & Enterprise Board, sit on the Angus Community Planning Executive, be a part of the Michelin Action Group and hold many Business Roundtables throughout the year to help businesses engage with key Ministers such as the UK Immigration Minister, and the Scottish Minister for Trade, Investment and Innovation.

Looking to 2019

As we look forward to a new year, members will continue to see the some of the usual favourites such as the DACC123 Member Lunches, our High Noon Events and Member Socials. We've also refreshed the events programme with some new series:

• Our Connect 4 series will hear from four specialists on topics covering Marketing, Finance, Social Media and PR. We kick start the year with Marketing & Digital Comms
• Our Leading Ladies masterclass series will inspire and engage attendees in a variety of topics. We'll be covering Inspiring Leadership, Innovation, Developing People and much more. We kick start the series with Keira Proctor from A Proctor Group delivering 'Inspiring Leadership'

And there will be more training & development in 2019 - developing businesses is at the heart of why we do what we do...if every business in Dundee & Angus grew and thrived, we will benefit from that, as will the whole regional economy. With that in mind, I am delighted to invite you to start 2019 by being inspired, get involved in two days of learning, co-design and engaging your business in social challenges which effect our region!

The Chamber is excited to be putting on the very first Business Design Jam in Dundee. 2019 is a key year as we build on the successes of 2018, but we have some key challenges to overcome in our region. Through service design & design-led thinking we can all do our bit to get involved and engaged in looking at solutions.

Every single one of us can make a difference: spend two days at the end of January learning new skills and generating a sustained positive impact!

Book Now: Invest in YOUR business & personal development in 2019

Very best wishes to you all for an amazing 2019...

Alison Henderson,

CEO, Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce

We are unashamedly ambitious for Dundee & Angus and believe a thriving local chamber of commerce is a vital component for success.

Vision: we believe that a strong business community is essential to the economic prosperity of Dundee & Angus. We lead the connections & experiences to build businesses by promoting the private sector, enabling businesses to attract and retain talented people and ensure that our region is seen as an innovative and ambitious place to prosper.

We are the key business voice in our region with the largest community of businesses who work together to ensure their opinions matter: collaborating to create a vibrant, economically successful region in which business can thrive and contribute to a sustainable economy and our communities.

Purpose: DACC is first and foremost a membership organisation and every activity it undertakes must further the interests of the majority of its members. 

There are three areas where DACC needs to be active on members’ behalf or providing a service to them; either delivered by DACC directly or through partnership working:

• connecting members (within and between sectors)
• campaigning/lobbying and influencing locally and nationally
• promoting Dundee and Angus locally, nationally and internationally