£4m funding announced to create next generation of Scots start-ups

Working in the tech sector is “not just a boy’s job,” Finance Secretary Kate Forbes has insisted, as she announced £4 million of government cash aimed at helping create the next generation of Scottish start-ups.

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes and tech entrepreneur Mark Logan at CodeBase in Edinburgh. Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire.

The initial funding to create five technology hubs was announced today by Forbes on a visit to the CodeBase technology incubator in Edinburgh, and will invest in critical infrastructure, enabling the hubs to give entrepreneurs “world-class” training and mentoring alongside the chance to network and share ideas.

The aim is to support at least 300 start-ups by 2025. The five hubs, announced in response to tech entrepreneur and former chief operating officer of travel site Skyscanner Mark Logan’s review of the sector, will be known as tech scalers.

Forbes holds a copy of the Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review by Logan. Picture: Andrew Milligan/PA Wire.

The Scottish Government is also setting up an Ecosystem Fund to make strategic investments in the sector and plans to create a formal tie-up with the technology industry to progress Logan’s longer-term recommendations.

Forbes said: “These hubs will transform the quality and intensity of support available to Scottish start-ups, delivering world-class education to tech entrepreneurs, helping this vital sector to grow and create jobs. They will also offer the chance to network and share ideas, laying the groundwork for Scotland’s digital future.”

Speaking ahead of her visit to CodeBase, she said the tech sector will be “so critical to our economic recovery” as Scotland moves out of the Covid-19 pandemic. She said: “We know that tech is going to be one of the fast-growing sectors in Scotland – it has got the potential to create thousands of jobs and power the economy.”

Gender equality

Forbes stressed the importance of “extra-curricular support to enthuse young people and inspire them, to recognise it is not just a boy’s job, that there is a rebalancing of the gender difference”.

Also commenting was Jane Morrison-Ross, chief executive of ScotlandIS, who said: “Scotland has a proud heritage of tech start-ups, and we need this cohesive strategy and leadership to maximise the nation’s potential in digital technology.”

She added: “The creation of these new tech scaler hubs creates the perfect opportunity to create a genuinely inclusive approach to technology across Scotland. We need these hubs based throughout Scotland to enable remote and rural economies to thrive in a digital world.”

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