I work as part of Nottingham City Council’s Invest in Nottingham team and from February 2015 have been dedicating two days per week to supporting the Nottingham Means Business (NMB), German Interest Group (GIG).
Have I been to Germany? Nein.
Do I speak any German? Niestety ja mowię tylko troche po polsku (unfortunately I only speak a little Polish).
Needless to say this has been a new challenge to me, but my overwhelming feelings on this journey so far are of excitement and optimism. I have had the privilege of meeting and interviewing our GIG members and understanding their thoughts on the state of Nottingham-German affairs.
Three things are clear:
1) GIG members bring a unique and varied blend of experience and expertise across many different sectors to the table.
2) The enthusiasm and commitment of our members coupled with the leadership and drive of NMB, is second to none. This places Nottingham in a strong position to attract German inward investment and promote trade links.
3) Nottingham has many strengths that need to be highlighted to the German market.
Chris Leishman – Invest in Nottingham and NMB.
I have only been in Nottingham for a few years. A native to Glasgow – another UK Core City (though only just – the referendum was very close!) – I’m aware of the challenges Nottingham faces to compete on the international stage. Globalisation is only going one way and Europe will continue to become more interconnected, so Nottingham needs to be ready to sell itself to the German, European and global markets.
In order to meet this challenge, I have been working hard with my colleagues to put together a clear, concise business plan for the GIG to follow from April 2015. This plan will involve working with our partners such as Invest in Nottingham, the Chambers of Commerce and Enterprise Europe Network to put Nottingham and Nottinghamshire on the map for German businesses, and put Germany on the map for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire businesses.
We will be attending ‘expos’ to target the types of business we want to attract to Nottingham. We will be joining trade missions to meet high profile influencers in key German cities and we will be hosting Nottingham based events in partnership with the German AHK (German-British Chamber of Commerce). Keep an eye out for our new website content that will be tailored specifically to target potential German investors – in German.
If you’re a business based in Nottingham or Nottinghamshire and you already trade with Germany – great, let us profile you and your organisation as an exemplar. If your business doesn’t trade with Germany – ask why not? Allow NMB and I to help you establish the right connections to make this happen and reap the rewards.
How would I sum up the GIG approach to this business plan? Simple, the Nottingham Means Business mantra:
Inform: Bring together German businesses to share intelligence, information and best practice.
Inspire: Promote Germany as an export destination to trade for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire businesses. Map and promote successful German trading businesses via case studies and exemplars to inspire non-German trading businesses.
Invest: Attract and support German inward investment to Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, generating quality leads to handover to Invest in Nottingham.
Watch this space for 2015. The Year of the GIG.