A £17.5m funding package is set to be delivered this year aimed at establishing Scotland as one of Europe’s leading start-up economies.
In a statement to Parliament, Wellbeing Economy and Fair Work Secretary Neil Gray set out a range of actions and investments this year to support entrepreneurs and start-up businesses, which he claimed are worth nearly £1bn to the Scottish economy.
He also announced that the Scottish Government will take forward the recommendations of the Pathways report on supporting women in entrepreneurship. These include:
- developing pre-start centres and pop-ups focused on encouraging women to start businesses and providing best-in-class support to help them develop products and get early access to funding;
- relaunching the Scottish Government’s Ecosystem Fund with an explicit focus on supporting projects that address the report’s key themes;
- continuing funding for key partner organisations including Women’s Enterprise Scotland, Investing Women, Business Women Scotland and Scottish Edge; and
- working with enterprise agencies, the Scottish National Investment Bank and private sector investors to open up access to investment avenues for women-led businesses and other under-invested groups.
The First Minister recently launched a 10-year plan to help create world-class entrepreneurial campuses at 45 universities and colleges across Scotland, with a £5.5m increase in the 2023-24 University Innovation Fund helping deliver the plan and support wider efforts to turn world-leading research into important innovations.
Gray stated: “We have all of the raw ingredients necessary to match the leading European exemplars: a proud tradition of innovation and entrepreneurship, a university system that is the envy of the world, and exceptional capability in emerging industries such as clean energy, life sciences and artificial intelligence.
“Over the last three years we have worked closely with Scotland’s chief entrepreneur Mark Logan to produce a series of publications that, together, form a sophisticated and comprehensive plan to make this vision a reality.
“I want to thank Ana Stewart for leading the Pathways review of women in entrepreneurship and am pleased to commit to take forward the recommendations of the report; we have a moral and economic duty to do more to support women to start and grow successful businesses.“
He added: “This is a package of vision and aspiration that sends a clear and powerful message to Scotland’s innovators, entrepreneurs and disruptors - this government believes in you and we are prepared to back you.”
Separately, MSPs are to investigate the “incredibly important” issue of Scotland’s finances.
Those on Holyrood’s Finance and Public Administration Committee are planning an inquiry into the sustainability of public finances.
It comes after the Scottish Government revealed it is facing a £1bn shortfall for day-to-day spending in 2024-25 – with this projected to rise to almost £2bn by 2027-28.
As part of its work, the committee will also look at the impact of Scotland’s ageing and falling population on public finances.
Convener Kenneth Gibson said they were keen to hear the views of both individuals and organisations. “The purpose of this inquiry is to examine how the budget for 2024-25 and beyond will ensure the sustainability of Scotland’s finances in both the short and longer-term.
“It is an incredibly important subject matter given the forecast budget pressures and longer-term demographic challenges in Scotland.”
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