After years of sitting glumly on the sidelines, entrepreneurs in Scotland’s creative industries are finally getting their own sandpit to play in.

This evening, the Scottish Creative Entrepreneurs Club will hold its third meeting in Dundee, with a range of businessmen and women from across the spectrum attending to swap ideas, meet new clients and generally do business, creatively of course.

"We felt that a gap needed filling within the creative community in Scotland," says Stuart Macdonald, director of Glasgow’s Lighthouse and co-creator of the club along with Janice Kirkpatrick, Scottish design guru and head of Glasgow-based design firm Graven Images.

"There was evidently interest in the clubs that were taking place south of the Border, because we knew of significant numbers of people who were travelling from Scotland to the events, so that extended to thinking about creating something like this up here."

The London creative clubs, which have been run by the Institute of Contemporary Arts, have been a roaring success within the city’s creative community, and Macdonald was keen to replicate the idea in Scotland.

He says the philosophy behind the club is simple. "We want people to be able to make contacts, learn more about what’s out there and collaborate on new ideas."

The club’s first event was held in Glasgow at the Lighthouse in September, chaired by Stuart Cosgrove, Head of Channel 4 Nations and Regions. Presentations were made by three Scottish creative entrepreneurs as well as two London-based representatives who benefited from the London "club" on which the Scottish club is modelled.

A second meeting was held in Edinburgh in October, and as well as tonight’s event in Dundee, another is being planned for Aberdeen in January entitled Convergent Technology: How will the future look?.

As well as the networking and presentations, the Edinburgh function also saw the introduction of a surgery for those attending, covering subjects including business advice and development, patent registration, product marketing and PR and financial management and funding.

So far the idea has taken off . Macdonald describes the feedback from attendees as "fantastic", and all of the club’s events so far have been oversubscribed. "They’ve been hugely popular," says Macdonald. "We had 150 people at the first event alone, and there’s a good deal of excitement about what can be accomplished."

There is even talk of extending the idea into the north of England, with clubs in Manchester and Leeds.

Those involved in the events come from all sectors of Scotland’s creative industries. "We’ve had everyone from new media companies to musicians coming along," says Macdonald. "We want to be as inclusive as possible, try and get everyone involved in any kind of creative business to come along and see if they can benefit."

That means furniture designers, computer games companies, architects, film-makers, university lecturers and media firms.

Creative industries account for £112.5 billion annually in the UK, employing 1.3 million people and contributing £10.3 billion to the UK balance of trade - which accounts for 5 per cent of the GDP.

The cry has evidently been heeded by the private and public sector, and as well as input from The Lighthouse, the club is also supported by the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts (NESTA), Cap Gemini Ernst & Young and Scottish Enterprise.

Macdonald points out that in these troubled times when recession is the word on everyone’s lips, a forum such as this can be of even greater benefit.

"I think that when people are nervous about the economic climate it can be of use to bring people together. It means that support and advice is there if you need it, and it brings with it a sense of community."