Start-up incubator CodeBase cheers forthcoming event focused on 'transformative' sector

Scottish start-up incubator CodeBase has heralded the return of in-person events and programmes, ahead of a key conference later this month that focuses on a trend billed as having “transformative” potential for Scotland.

The NoCode Gathering takes place at CodeBase in Edinburgh on Tuesday November 23, shining a spotlight on no-code, or low-code, a rapidly growing enterprise trend that enables non-technical people and teams to build software, websites, apps, or games without writing code.

It will see in-person delegates joined by virtual attendees, and is being sponsored by Creative Informatics, Glasgow-based automation specialist Cobry, and Supemetrics, a Finland-headquartered automation tool developer that recently began recruiting in Scotland.

From left: Max Reiter, Yasmin Sulaiman, Oli Littlejohn, and Claire Wheelan of CodeBase. Picture: Sarna.

Speakers at NoCode Gathering include Max Haining, who runs 100 Days of NoCode, which is described as the UK’s largest no-code community; Mariam Hakobyan from no-code platform Softr; Mariel Vargas from Bubble, which recently raised $100 million (£74m) from Silicon Valley investors; and Nile Frater, MD of NoCode.Tech.

Mr Frater said: “For years, creating and changing the digital world we all use has been a privilege restricted to computer scientists and Silicon Valley whiz-kids. No-Code changes this and allows absolutely anyone to create apps, automate computers and edit the digital world they live in – without having to understand computer programming, going to university or [undertaking] a steep learning curve.

"It's why we're so invested in no-code education, it's why we're supporting the NoCode Gathering in Edinburgh, and it's why we think no-code is the next huge technology shift of the 2020s.”

CodeBase, which says it is the largest technology incubator in the UK and one of the fastest-growing in Europe, cited global technology research group Gartner forecasting that 65 per cent of all apps will be created by low-code platforms by 2024, platforms that use visual interfaces and human language rather than coding.

The Scottish incubator’s head of community Oli Littlejohn said no-code and low-code are set to be “transformative” across Scotland. “No-code is giving companies a competitive advantage by enabling them to move much faster and at lower cost.

"And it has really come into its own during the pandemic. Some of the companies we have been speaking to have been able to deliver software projects in weeks or even days rather than months, which was the previous status quo.”

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