Who we are

We were formed in 2001 to attract direct foreign investment to Scotland. Our success is demonstrated in the value of inward investment to Scotland which doubled to £215 million in 2005.

We are a joint venture between the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise bringing together the resources of these organisations to deliver support for companies investing in Scotland.

In order to support foreign investment to Scotland, we have offices and staff throughout the world including the UK, mainland Europe, North America and Asia.

Find your nearest SDI office 

Not only do we provide support to international companies based in Scotland through our inward investor support activities, but we also help Scottish companies do business internationally.

• attract direct foreign investment, concentrating on research, design and development projects with high knowledge content;
• enhance the internationalisation capabilities of companies through International Strategy Development;
• create partnership investments between Scottish and foreign companies and organisations to open new channels to markets, investments, technologies and products;
• increase trade growth by encouraging the expansion of Scotland's portfolio for first-class exported goods and services to new markets; and
• help strike licensing deals between Scottish and overseas companies and universities.

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