Scottish companies on target to secure £65million turnover from mobile and wireless opportunities

A dynamic group of 21 Scottish companies are attending the world’s largest trade event for mobile and wireless technology in Barcelona next week, with the support of Scottish Development International (SDI).

The GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (Monday 27^th February to Thursday1^st March 2012) provides the opportunity for companies to showcase their new innovations in mobile applications and technology to more that 60,000 international delegates.

It’s estimated that the business opportunities for Scottish companies will help them achieve an expected combined turnover of £8million over the next year, rising to £65million over the next three years.

Scottish Development International, working in partnership with Scottish Enterprise’s Interactive Scotland programme, is leading a delegation of 21 Scottish companies to the event. The companies will have the opportunity to meet with major senior international players in the technology sector such as Qualcomm Ventures, HTC, Nokia, Orange, Microsoft and Intel Capital.

Scottish Development International chief executive, Anne MacColl, said: “We know the skills, innovation and expertise Scotland has in mobile technology are world-leading, with the Mobile World Congress an unparalleled opportunity for our companies to showcase their products and innovations to a global audience. The agility of our companies in this sector, their knowledge of the market and creativity and innovation, means they are ideally placed to maximise the global opportunities that this event represents to create new connections and develop new deals.”

The Scottish companies will also link with members of the GlobalScot network – from companies such as Juniper Networks, Panasonic and Telefonica 02 Europe – who will be on hand to provide advice, support and connections.

Douglas Kinloch VP Business Development at Metaforic, a company which is attending as part of the Scottish delegation, said: “This is Metaforic's first time at the MWC and our attendance has been driven by customer engagement and opportunity. More of our customers need the application security we provide on mobile platforms - increasingly they want to extend their networks right into their customers' pockets. For that to work, companies and government departments need to be able to trust their software, which is where we come in.”

Alasdair Gunn, project director for Scottish Enterprise's Interactive Scotland, said: “The transformations created by social media, mobile commerce and social gaming are disrupting traditional mobile and internet business models as well as creating a wealth of new business opportunities. Scottish Digital Media and Creative companies have recognised that this presents exciting new market opportunities for their business and it’s great to see the global interest Scottish companies are receiving from many of the world’s leading players.”

The mission will also aim to encourage companies to locate in Scotland to take advantage of the highly skilled people here, both university graduates and industry workforce. Last year, attendance at this show resulted in the investment from Nujira, a world leader in power amplifier technology, who opened a design centre in Edinburgh creating high calibre positions in this location.

Mike Shiel, Head of ICT & Enabling Technologies at Scottish Development International said: "We continue to work in partnership with the excellent company base in Scotland at Mobile World Congress whilst looking to complement the expertise here in order to strengthen the economic landscape in Scotland.”