Extra investment to grow and nurture high-growth businesses and entrepreneurs has been announced.
The £5 million package will help deliver end-to-end support for Scotland’s start-up companies. It forms part of an ongoing to commitment to deliver on the recommendations of the Logan report into developing a world-class technology sector, and the Pathways report which is focussed on expanding the number of women starting and scaling-up businesses.
The package includes:
funding to expand the business funding competition Scottish EDGE, helping broaden and tailor the range of financial support available to fledgling businesses
the development of pre-start support, aimed at stimulating the earliest stages of business creation and product development for under-represented groups.
support to maximise the economic impact of university spin-out companies, and commercialise research
investing in initiatives that will attract the world’s top talent and showcase Scotland as a global destination for start-up founders and investors.
The additional support coincides with an announcement that Codebase, delivery partners of the Scottish Government’s £42 million Techscaler programme, are to partner with Scottish EDGE to develop the end-to-end support offered to businesses and entrepreneurs.
Deputy First Minister and Economy Secretary Kate Forbes announced the new funding as she visited the National Robotarium, the UK’s centre for Robotics and Artificial Intelligence and home to a number of spin-out tech companies.
She said: “Innovation is at the very heart of our economy. We have the talent, the skills and the facilities to make Scotland one of Europe’s fastest-growing start-up economies: an economy that is strong, successful and dynamic.
“This package of measures, which builds on the multi-million investment the Scottish Government is already making into our start-up business community, forms the next step in providing one of the most comprehensive government-backed support networks in Europe.
“The partnership between Codebase and Scottish EDGE also underlines our joined-up approach to fostering and nurturing Scotland’s young and vibrant business community. My message to Scotland’s innovators, entrepreneurs and disruptors is simple but clear: this Government believes in you and we will back you.”
Founder of the Hunter Foundation Sir Tom Hunter said: “Scottish EDGE is a proven, world class model of delivering finance to potential high growth early stage businesses and that has been independently verified.
“I am delighted the Deputy First Minister has recognised that and added significant additional resource to Scottish EDGE. When business and Government come together as they do in financing Scottish EDGE it can drive real economic growth by building the pipeline of entrepreneurial businesses, employment and the taxes that pay for public services.”
Entrepreneur and Investor Ana Stewart, author of the Pathways report on under-representation of women in entrepreneurship, said: “‘This is a meaningful step forward in tackling the extreme gender imbalance which currently exists in entrepreneurship.
“I look forward to engaging and supporting the Government and other partners in enacting change whilst building on the existing momentum created since the publication of the Pathways report.
“Change will not happen overnight so I am also encouraged to see the adoption of a more strategic approach with a multi-year investment – a critical component if we are to tackle these persistent challenges.”
The First Minister has set out his ambitions for Scotland’s economy during a speech in Glasgow.
Speaking at the Barclays Campus in Glasgow’s financial district on Friday, First Minister John Swinney outlined his government’s approach to economic policy making.
Mr Swinney said poor decision-making at UK level, typified by Brexit and immigration policy, means the Scottish Government must work even harder with its limited powers to help businesses and workers thrive.
The First Minister stated his determination to bring hope and optimism and said he will “go all out” to encourage economic investment.
John Swinney said policy making will be governed by:
Moderate left of centre, progressive values
A partnership approach with unions and business
A focus on actions
Problem solving based on evidence
The First Minister will highlight significant announcements in Scotland’s renewable energy sector this week and actions the Scottish Government is taking to boost high growth businesses.
The First Minister said: “My goal is to help people live happier and healthier lives with higher living standards and to help businesses boost profitability.
“The evidence shows that independent countries that are comparable to Scotland are wealthier and fairer than the UK.
“Scotland has the talents and resources to match that performance with independence but in the here and now and in the face of Brexit we must work even harder to help Scotland’s economy with the powers we have.
“I will go all out to encourage investment in Scotland and I will ensure people know my government is a firmly pro-business administration.
“A partnership with trade unions and business will be at the core of my approach and through that approach and given our resources, not least incredible renewable energy, we should look to the future with hope and optimism.”
ANALYSIS: FRASER of ALLANDER INSTITUTE
New FM – new approach on the economy?
Today, the new First Minister John Swinney set out his broad economic aspirations for Scotland (write MAIRI SPOWAGE and EMMA CONGREVE).
In a speech at the impressive Barclays Glasgow Campus (which he said embodied the ambition he wished to have for the economy), he set out the vision he had for Scotland to have a strong, successful, innovative and dynamic economy.
For people who were after specific policy actions, the speech was light on detail, but it was not perhaps fair to expect the FM to outline these sorts of specifics in a speech like this.
The FM also had a difficult line to tread, given (as he himself pointed out) that he has been a Minister in government for 16 of the last 17 years and wanted to talk about successes in a record he is “immensely proud of”. At the same time, he needed to recognise that there were failings in the previous administration that had led to him being in office as First Minister.
Economic Growth is front and centre
The First Minister had said as he took office that eradicating child poverty was his key policy objective. This morning he was keen to set out that there is no conflict between eradicating child poverty and boosting economic growth – rather, they go hand in hand. He set out that boosting the economy will create opportunities for people and raise living standards and that reducing poverty raises spending power and boosts productivity. This is to a large degree true, but there will at times be trade-offs that will require one to be prioritised over the other.
Given the key stakeholders from businesses and business organisations in the room for his speech today, he was very keen to set out that his government was going to work collaboratively with businesses and other organisations to design and implement policies to strengthen the economy. Even more broadly, the FM said that he wished to bring more consensus building back into Scottish politics to try to achieve outcomes – to “build up, not tear down” as he put it.
There was a clear “Scotland is open for business” from the FM today. Supporting more investment in Scotland (particularly related to the Energy Transition and Housing) is clearly a priority for this new administration. This featured heavily in this speech and has been supported by some of the policy announcements made earlier this week.
We will do, rather than write strategy documents
A widely welcomed aspect of the speech is likely to be the FM’s acknowledgment that his government could probably do with carrying out “more concrete actions and fewer strategy documents”.
We have been on record a number of times as saying that the Scottish Government produces too many and too weighty strategy documents. So this is a crowd pleaser to a room of people who are likely to want to see action rather than just warm words and have seen endless strategies come and go.
However, it is important to remember what the problem sometimes was with these documents. Sometimes, in the case of recent economic strategy documents, the problem is that they aren’t really strategies – if they set out high-level principles that no one can disagree with, but don’t provide a meaningful framework for prioritisation and dealing with trade-offs, then they aren’t particularly useful.
In other cases, even where strategies are set, they can often gather dust on a shelf rather than meaningfully drive activity in government.
All of this from the FM is likely to be broadly welcomed – it’s an easy sell to say there will be less bureaucracy. But let’s not forget that we still need a clear economic strategy from the FM and the DFM – and that a strategy is not a strategy unless it rules some things out and recognises trade-offs and carries through into day-to-day activity. This clarity and policy stability is what is likely to be required to inspire the confidence in investors that this new administration would like to see.
Looking forward, not back
Many of the questions from journalists in the room today were designed to get the FM’s views on what went wrong with economic policy under the previous leadership, In addition, he was asked what his government was likely to do on policies like rent controls, short term lets legislation, and tax increases (specifically income tax) that have been put in place at the past budgets. Essentially, people were keen to hear what, in these specific areas, might change under a John Swinney government.
The FM said clearly that he was “looking forward, not back” in response to the question about what went wrong under Humza Yousaf.
With regards to specific policies where regulation was impacting businesses, he said his Cabinet colleagues were looking at lots of areas of policy and that more details on specific policies would be following in the weeks and months to come.
On tax, he was more forthcoming – acknowledging that the higher tax rates on above-median earners in Scotland are an important component of raising revenue in straitened fiscal times, but also saying that “we can’t keep raising taxes”. It will be interesting to see how this approach to tax is reflected in the Government’s Draft Tax Strategy, which is due alongside the Medium Term Financial Strategy (date currently tbc). That is if these two documents survive the cull of strategies …
Evidence-based approaches
The FM today said a number of times that the government he leads will be more practical and will be driven by the evidence of “what works”. We are very supportive of this, of course, and hope it signals a shift of more meaningful appraisal and assessment of policy options within the Scottish Government, with the associated investment in evaluation.
In doing this, unintended consequences, whether economic or otherwise, are more likely to be identified and can be proactively mitigated, and/or it can allow the government to change course at an earlier stage.
In addition, progress and continuous improvement can only happen in a culture of meaningful evaluation and being prepared to learn from what worked and what didn’t work.
For example, how well has the policy on rent freezes and caps worked to date? It would initially appear from rental costs that it has had the opposite effect on rents than the government presumably desired, and it would also appear to have had an impact on investor confidence in the sector. Given the FM’s focus on housing in his speech today, and his commitment to be evidence-based, it will be interesting to see how this policy area progresses.
Is this a meaningful shift in approach?
With his speech today, that is certainly what the FM is trying to convey. He was saying many of the right things to hearten those who want to see the government focus on economic growth.
However, the proof will be in the policy action that is actually taken. So, let’s wait for these details in the weeks to come.
A team of pioneering young entrepreneurs from George Watson’s will be heading to Hampden Park to take part in the Young Enterprise Scotland National Finals.
Teams from Stewart’s Melville, Mary Erskine, Preston Lodge, St Georges, George Watson’s, Boroughmuir and George Heriot’s took part in the Lothian Regional Final for the Company Programme at Edinburgh Napier University, which saw George Watson’s take the crown with their business ‘Snappets.’
Snappets sells croc charms in a range of shapes and sizes, with the goal of producing a product that is suitable for everyone and promotes creativity.
The winners were presented their award by Daniel Johnson, MSP for Edinburgh Southern.
The Young Enterprise Scotland Company Programme is an immersive programme which provides a real-life learning opportunity that introduces young people from S5 and S6 to the realities of the world of work.
Participants are required to start their own company, running through the key milestones of developing an idea, conducting market research, creating the product or service, promoting that product and ultimately trading it.
Over 2,000 young people take part in the Company Programme every year in Scotland.
Young Enterprise Scotland, Chief Executive, Emma Soanes said: “The George Watson’s team is an inspiration and I wish them every success in the Scottish finals later this year.
Setting up and running their own successful company is a wonderful experience and will have given them new skills to take forward into their learning and future careers. So, whatever happens at Hampden Park, they are already winners.”
The Lothian Company Finals were sponsored by Edinburgh Napier.
The winning team will now go on to represent the Lothian region at The Young Enterprise Scotland Company Programme Finals, which are part of the three-day Festival of Youth Enterprise, running from 28th to 29th May at Hampden park.
Pension funds to publicly disclosure how much they invest in UK businesses Vs those overseas.
Schemes performing poorly for savers won’t be allowed to take on new business from employers.
Changes are part of the government’s plan to improve outcomes for savers and consolidate the pensions market.
The Chancellor has today (2 March) announced pension fund reforms as a further step in the government’s plan to boost British business and increase returns for savers. This includes requirements for Defined Contribution (DC) pension funds to publicly disclosure their level of investment in the UK.
The government’s auto enrolment rollout has driven a huge growth in the amount of investment entering UK pension funds, from less than £90 billion in 2012 to around £116 billion in 2022. However, the disclosure requirements for DC pension funds are currently inconsistent across the market and do not require a breakdown of UK investments, sometimes making it difficult for policymakers and savers to understand where this money is invested.
By ensuring pension funds publicly disclose where they invest and the returns they offer, it will make it possible for employers and savers to compare schemes and make informed choices. The government is embarking on Value for Money (VFM) pension fund reforms to improve outcomes for savers and consolidate the DC pensions market. The reforms will ensure that pension managers are focused on securing good returns for savers.
Under the plans:
By 2027 DC pension funds across the market will disclose their levels of investment in British businesses, as well as their costs and net investment returns.
Pension funds will be required to publicly compare their performance data against competitor schemes, including at least two schemes managing at least £10 billion in assets.
Schemes performing poorly for savers won’t be allowed to take on new business from employers, with The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) having a full range of intervention powers.
The plans are subject to a consultation by the Financial Conduct Authority and build on the Government’s Mansion House compact, that encouraged pension funds to invest at least 5% of their assets in unlisted equity.
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said: “We have already started on a path to drive growth, unlock capital for our most promising companies and improve outcomes for savers – and these new rules mean employers and savers can see how their money is invested and how the returns compare to other schemes.
“British pension funds appear to contribute less to the UK economy than international counterparts do as they invest less in our domestic businesses. These requirements will help focus minds on how to improve overall returns and outcomes for savers.”
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Mel Stride MP, said: “The incredible success of automatic enrolment has opened up a huge opportunity to grow the economy, boost British businesses and fuel our futures. It has helped us transform the pensions landscape over the last decade.
“And our Value for Money framework will take this one step further, focusing pension managers on their number one priority – securing the best possible returns for savers – as well as providing a boost to the wider economy.”
Julia Hoggett, CEO of London Stock Exchange plc and Chair of the Capital Markets Industry Taskforce, said:“Pension holders should know how much is being invested in equities in their home market.
“Investing in UK companies ultimately benefits those companies and the returns they are delivering, which supports the economy and the country in which pension holders live, to everyone’s benefit and in everyone’s interest.”
James Ashton, Quoted Companies Alliance chief executive, said:“There is huge upside to aligning the UK’s financial assets with innovative homegrown ventures that could be tomorrow’s world beaters.
“We welcome these new disclosures and hope they are the first step to many UK pension funds discovering the numerous high-potential companies whose shares are traded on their doorstep.”
Chris Hayward, Policy Chairman of the City of London Corporation, said: “The Mansion House Compact aims to channel long-term capital from pension funds into growth companies.
“It will support high-growth companies to start, scale and stay in the UK. We welcome the Government’s action to support this objective which will turn the dial to drive investment into UK businesses. It is vital that the pension ecosystem focusses on value for money and long-term returns for savers.”
Unavoidable hidden fees cost consumers £2.2 billion every year
Fake reviews, shop labelling and hidden fees that make shopping more difficult and expensive for consumers will all be targeted head on to clamp down on unfair trading practices.
Following a consultation into consumer transparency and as part of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Bill (DMCC), the Department for Business and Trade will officially add fake reviews to a list of banned business practices, outlaw dripped fees that are unavoidable for consumers and ensure that businesses provide clearer labelling for prices on supermarket shelves.
These measures will be legislated for as part of the DMCC Bill as it progresses through Parliament.
Sneaky hidden fees, or dripped prices that are unavoidable will be banned. Drip pricing occurs when consumers are shown an initial price for a good or service while additional fees are revealed (or “dripped”) later in the checkout process.
Research suggests it is widespread and occurs in more than half of providers in the entertainment (54 percent) and hospitality (56 percent) industry, and almost three quarters across transport and communication (72 percent) sectors.
Every year, unavoidable fees cost consumers £2.2 billion, which is why these laws are being designed to ensure online shoppers have a clear idea of what they are spending upfront, to inform them as much as possible and as soon as possible before making purchases.
To make it easier for consumers to compare products and services, fees that are mandatory must be included in the headline price or at the start of the shopping process – these include booking fees for cinemas and train tickets.
Optional fees such as airline seat and luggage upgrades for flights will not be included in these measures.
Minister for Enterprise, Markets and Small Business Kevin Hollinrake said:“From supermarket shelves to digital baskets – modern day shopping provides customers with more choice than ever before. But with that, comes the increased risk of confusion, scams and traps that can easily cost the public more than they had planned.
“Today’s announcement demonstrates the clear steps we’re taking as a government to ensure customers can compare purchases with ease, aren’t duped by fake reviews, and have the sting of hidden fees taken away.”
Reviews were found to be used by 90% of consumers and contributed to the £224 billion spent in online retail markets in 2022, which is why this government is committed to ensuring that the information available online is accurate and fair.
Working with the Competition and Market’s Authority, new guidance will be created in the coming months to tackle fake reviews which will be added to the list of banned practices, with website hosts held accountable for reviews on their pages.
The Price Marking Order (PMO), a piece of Retained EU Law, will also be reformed now ]we have taken back control of our laws’.
The PMO requires traders to display the final selling price and, where appropriate the final unit price (e.g., price per litre/kilogram) of products in a clear way. The EU’s PMO laws were last updated 20 years ago and no longer reflect modern shopping habits.
We will be working with stakeholders and businesses to create new, simpler and clearer guidance for pricing labels that works best for British businesses and improves the shopping experiences for UK customers. This is expected to be issued in the spring.
Our proposed changes will ensure unit pricing is consistently applied, including to promotions and special offers, helping consumers compare products easily and identify what items represent the best value to them.
Small shops that are currently exempt from the PMO will continue to be exempt from those specific measures.
Graham Wynn, Assistant Director, British Retail Consortium said: “The BRC looks forward to continuing to work with officials as practical detailed implementation plans are developed. We are committed to ensuring information given to consumers is clear and they are not misled in any way.“
The UK Government will also be making provision for the PMO in relation to the Deposit Return Scheme so the cost of the deposit is displayed separately on price labels.
In addition to fake reviews and hidden fees, the DMCC Bill will also look at other consumer issues including subscription traps, and will provide the CMA with stronger tools to investigate competition problems and take faster, more effective action, including where companies collude to bump-up prices at the expense of UK consumers.
Love Your Business networking club, which has welcomed 185 speakers and over 4000 attendees since it launched in 2018, celebrates its 6th anniversary with the announcement of this month’s speaker on the 25thJanuary as Ben Scott, former Scotland Men’s Rugby Wellbeing Coach, who worked with the team to help bridge the gap between wellbeing and performance.
The club, at Black Ivy in Edinburgh, was launched by Michelle Brown, founder of the eponymous PR agency which marks its 10th anniversary this year, to help businesses make connections and build relationships, exchange ideas, referrals and contacts, and hear from inspiring speakers every month, sharing their entrepreneurial journeys and business insights.
These include Chris van der Kuyl CBE, Chairman and Co-Founder of 4J Studios, developers of the multi-award-winning Minecraft Console editions, former co-founder of Social Bite and business coach, Alice Thompson, California based environmental entrepreneur Paul Tasner, founder of PulpWorks and Michael Welch, OBE and CEO at Tirebuyer.com.
Also, Rachel Hanretty, founder of the award-winning Mademoiselle Macaron, which sells over 35,000 macarons a week, has a turnover of £1.2m and landed an order to send her meringue confections to the Barbie film set.
This month’s guest speaker, Ben Scott, specialises in health, wellbeing, performance and personal growth and was head-hunted to become Scotland’s Men’s Rugby Wellbeing Coach in 2021 to enhance the squads individual and collective wellbeing, on and off the field.
Having suffered from physical and mental challenges as a teenager, Ben embarked on a journey to discover the answers he needed to overcome them, which involved completing various courses, including a five-year master’s degree in Chiropractic, a three year postgraduate in Functional Neurology and a postgraduate diploma in Clinical Hypnotherapy.
From January 2021 until April 2023, he worked with the team during a time that became one of their most successful performance periods, breaking many of their records, and seeing them rise two places in the World Rugby Rankings.
Ben, who continues to coach elite athletes in person and online, and also helps patients at Morningside Chiropractic, will be sharing the story of his career journey and the ‘4 Pillars of Wellbeing’ to help business owners get 2024 off to a positive start, professionally and personally.
Michelle said: “I’m delighted to welcome the wellbeing coach, Ben Scott, as the speaker at Love Your Business this month, whose advice on ‘purpose, potential and performance’ will help business owners to get 2024 off to a flying start.
“For the past six years so many speakers have given up their time to share their inspiring stories with us and learnings along the way and provide valuable advice for businesses which always leaves everyone in the room inspired and motivated.”
Ben said: “Being asked to speak at the Love Your Business networking event this month is a great opportunity for me to share insights on how our wellbeing effects our performances, both personally and professionally, and to highlight ways we can overcome our challenges, so that we are better able to fulfil our potential and reach our goals.”
“I’m really looking forward to celebrating the 6th anniversary of a club which has brought so many people and businesses together to share their knowledge and experiences, in what is such a fantastic achievement for Michelle.”
Over the years the networking club, has also supported various charities and social enterprises, including Make 2nds Count, Support in Mind Scotland, Invisible Cities, Epilepsy Scotland and Fighting Against Cancer Edinburgh, FACE who have received proceeds from ticket sales and marketing support.
Love Your Business networking club runs on the last Thursday of every month, from 11am till 1pm. The first event of the year is on the 25th January.
Scotland does not support ‘Not for EU’ food labelling proposals
Concerns about “arbitrarily adding costs to businesses” at a time when consumers are already facing a cost of living crisis have been raised by Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon.
The UK Government has proposed a roll out of ‘not for EU’ labelling on food and drink products across the whole of the UK from October, despite the fact that food labelling is a devolved matter.
The Food and Drink Federation Scotland has called for a proportionate alternative and Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs Mairi Gougeon has sought further clarification from the UK Government given “the information that has been provided to us so far is limited and does not currently represent a convincing argument or provide any real evidence… why this blanket measure is considered a proportionate approach.”
In a letter to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Steve Barclay, Ms Gougeon said: “As labelling is a wholly devolved matter, the policy decision on whether to place this additional burden on Scottish businesses should rest with the Scottish Ministers.
“On the face of it, your proposals would impact a large number of businesses in Scotland who do not sell goods to Northern Ireland but would be required to change their labelling, or who sell into Europe and would be required to set up separate labelling streams.
“I do not support this GB-wide labelling proposal as it stands, and I am not persuaded on the information provided so far that there is a case to introduce it in Scotland. I look forward to meeting with you and discussing this issue in due course.”
Barratt Developments Scotland, which includes Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes, has made a substantial contribution of £355.5m to the Scottish economy, with the housebuilder’s East Scotland division supplying £115.5m in GVA itself.
In the year ending 30 June 2023, Barratt East Scotland also completed 847 new homes of which 187 were affordable, and supported 1,641 direct, indirect and induced jobs across the region, which includes Edinburgh and The Lothians.
2023 also saw the largest UK housebuilder reinforce its commitment to creating homes for nature as well as people. The business created 10.3ha of public green spaces and private gardens around the region, the equivalent of 15 football pitches, to help support wildlife on and around its sites.
Across the UK, Barratt is working towards reducing its direct carbon emissions by 29 per cent by 2025 and indirect emissions by 24 per cent per square metre by 2030. In the past year, CO2e emissions per 100m.sq. of completed build area fell to 1.87t in Scotland – a reduction of 2 per cent from the 2018 benchmark.
Alison Condie, managing director for Barratt Developments East Scotland, said:“As the UK’s largest housebuilder, and one of the most sustainable, we place considerable emphasis on supporting people, the environment and generating strong economic growth for the region.
“We are proud to have made such a positive contribution to the region in 2023 with 847 new homes being delivered to families and boosting the local economy by £115.5m.”
As part of its housebuilding activity, Barratt East Scotland has made £3.4m in local contributions to help build new facilities and community infrastructure. This contribution includes the provision of 173 new school places. More than £27.3m has also been spent on physical works within communities, such as highways, environmental improvements and community facilities.
Other key findings from the Barratt East Scotland 2021 socio-economic report include:
Increased support for public services with £28.9m in generated tax revenues
Over £96,000 donated to local charitable and community causes
296 supplier and 276 sub-contractor companies supported
Increased support for the UK supply chain with 90% of all components centrally procured, assembled or manufactured in-country
More than £15.2m in retail spending by new residents, helping support 150 retail and service-related jobs
The development of new and future talent remains a key priority for Barratt Developments Scotland and 75 graduates, apprentices and trainees launched their careers with the company in 2023, including 24 from its East Scotland division.
The assessment of Barratt Developments’ performance was carried out by independent consultants Lichfields, who analysed socio-economic impacts through the delivery chain for new housing based on Barratt datasets, published research and national statistics.
Scottish EDGE invests £1.5 million into 38 early stage, high growth businesses
With many UK firms struggling to innovate against the current economic backdrop, 38 Scottish businesses with high-growth potential have received a much-needed injection of cash at the 22nd round of the Scottish EDGE Awards that took place last week.
Taking place for the first time in Glasgow since 2019 and hosted by the Royal Bank of Scotland, the awards were attended by Simon Hannah in his first official engagement as Chair of the organisation, and Mark Scott, CEO of pet wellness brand Bella & Duke.
This year also saw the introduction of the new Scottish Government backed £100,000 Pathways Award, to support an ambitious female entrepreneur and was presented to Good Nude Food, a multi-award winning, probiotic fermented sauerkraut company.
Two of the other big winners of the evening were Brose Oats, which triumphed in the Food and Drink Category, a new award sponsored by Food & Drink Scotland, and Conneckt Charging, an EV charging network which won in the Net Zero category, supported by Royal Bank of Scotland.
Both winners took home a prize worth £100,000, while GLORIAH, a company manufacturing sustainable intimate care products for women experiencing menopause, won a prize worth £80,000 in the Zero Waste Scotland supported Circular Economy category.
Sustainability was also a theme for Oir Soap, who won £65,000 alongside the STV Award of £75,000 of advertising airtime, and who create luxury soaps using natural ingredients.
Biotech start-up Prozymi Biolabs won the £65,000 IBioIC award to further their quest to revolutionise the gluten-free market, while Edinburgh Open Workshop, which offers affordable and flexible access to workshop machinery and tools, was awarded £75,000 in the Social Enterprise category, which is supported by The Postcode Innovation Trust.
The Young EDGE and Wildcard categories returned this round, with the former supporting companies whose Managing Directors are under 30 years old and the latter providing a grant to pre-trading businesses which need support to bring their products to market.
Winners of this year’s Young EDGE award ranged from Selki Store, which provides heat packs to people suffering from chronic pain, to confectionery companies Tabrifics and Chocolatia, who received the £15,000 Harper Macleod and Scottish Enterprise top Young EDGE awards respectively.
Wildcard winners included Claymore Surgical Ltd, who are developing a software platform to automate the diagnosis of childhood sleep apnoea, and Practest, who are aiming to revolutionise GPs’ communication with their patients.
Sir Tom Hunter of the Hunter Foundation said: “Bold, brave and brilliant – those are the characteristics of Scottish EDGE winners.
“All the evidence points to Scotland needing far more of these businesses. EDGE is a brilliant supporter of high growth business and I’m sure could do a lot more for Scotland’s economy with the right Government support.”
Judith Cruickshank,MD Commercial Mid Market at the Royal Bank of Scotland, said: “The Scottish EDGE awards continue to showcase the remarkable innovative talent present within Scotland’s entrepreneurial community.
“Helping businesses to scale and succeed is core to our principles which is why we’re so proud to continue our support for the Scottish EDGE awards.
“We’d like to congratulate all those businesses who were awarded funding at last night’s awards, and we can’t wait to see their progress in the coming months. As supporters of the Net Zero category, we’d like to extend special congratulations to Connekt Charging. Their work in creating an extensive and reliable charging network has the potential to be transformational.”
Jane Martin, managing director of innovation and investment at Scottish Enterprise said:“We’re pleased to continue our support for the Young EDGE category, which was once again a highly competitive field.
“Scottish EDGE has an important role to play within Scotland’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. By supporting innovative, high growth potential start-ups, together we can drive Scotland’s future economic prosperity and create purposeful, scaling companies of the future.”
Evelyn McDonald, CEO of Scottish EDGE, said: “As businesses across Scotland find themselves facing challenging circumstances, there’s never been a more urgent need to drive creativity and innovation.
“The winners of the 22nd round of Scottish EDGE are testament to the incredible potential within Scotland’s start-up landscape. The addition of further awards this round, both Pathways and Food and Drink, has allowed us to reward more businesses, and alongside our partner organisations we continue our commitment to help Scottish businesses not just survive, but to thrive”.
Supported by The Hunter Foundation, the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise, Scottish EDGE has a key role to play in facilitating the nation’s economic growth.
List of this year’s Scottish EDGE winners (alphabetically)
· Ansearch (Edinburgh) – Ansearch connect to all of your business apps, to make their data searchable from one place (imagine Google, but the results are from your business) – Young EDGE, £10,000
· BOROBOSCOT (Edinburgh) – Introducing Maah, a robotic platform and its digital twin designed to aid older adults and caregivers improve both their lives and work, against the backdrop of the demographic crisis – £80,000
· Brose Oats (East Lothian) – Brose is a healthy and delicious alternative to dairy, and is made of the most environmentally sustainable substances of all plant-based drinks – oats – Food & Drink, £100,000
· CaskNet (Edinburgh) – CaskNet is a digital cask register, authenticating ownership of whisky casks owned by private individuals or brokers in Scotland, alleviating problems facing the industry – £65,000
· CEXAL LTD (Edinburgh) – CEXAL Ltd creates rapid, accurate and cost-effective test kits for the identification of harmful pathogens in water samples – Young EDGE, £10,000
· Chocolatia (Forfar)- Chocolate producer from a restaurant background making luxury chocolates with ethical, sustainable ingredients, showcasing Scottish seasonal produce and highlighting their importance – Young EDGE, £15,000
· Coolthstore Ltd (Edinburgh) – We provide FridgeMate, a non-battery energy-storage module onto which all future fridges will be built. FridgeMate harvests and stores renewable energy for later peak-time usage – Wildcard, £10,000
· Conneckt Charging (Ayr/Glasgow)- Connekt is a privately operated EV charging network and App which integrates into commercial EV charging solutions to provide its drivers with a seamless and reliable charging experience – Net Zero, £100,000
· Claymore Surgical (Glasgow) – We are developing a centralised software platform to automate the diagnosis of childhood sleep apnoea and prioritise treatment for the children who need urgent care – Wild Card, £15,000
· Edinburgh Open Workshop (Edinburgh) – A creative makerspace offering affordable, flexible, Pay-As-You-Go access to workshop machinery and tools – Social £75,000
· Eye to the Future – Eye to the Future develops software that enables clinicians to deliver improved and more consistent health outcomes through earlier diagnosis of critical eye conditions – £70,000
· Feverfew Garden Company (Orkney) – We’re the UK’s first functional gardenwear brand specifically designed for women. We create high quality products that help women feel confident in the garden – £10,000
· GLORIAH (Edinburgh) – GLORIAH create, manufacture, and sell sustainable luxury intimate care products for women experiencing menopausal symptoms alongside providing educational, sharable content focused on the menopause – Circular Economy, £80,000
· Good Nude Food (Shetland Isles) – Good Nude Food is a multi-award-winning, probiotic fermented sauerkraut company. Our vision is to be a brand leader in the growing gut-healthy, fermented food sector – Pathways, £100,000
· Gradatim (Edinburgh) – We create children’s picture books to aid the delivery of complex disability/illness information to children under 5 that are read in conjunction with their treatment – Wildcard, £10,000
· Happy Leaf Ltd (Glasgow) – Developing an all-in-one smart sensor and app that makes growing houseplants easy – Wildcard, £10,000
· Highland Domes Ltd (Dingwall) – We build competitively priced, visually pleasing geodesic greenhouses that are more resilient, better insulated and with more economic use of space than alternative structures – Young EDGE, £10,000
· Jacks-Alt-Stays (Millport) – Jack’s Alt-Stays – A one-of-a-kind cabin accommodation concept on a scenic Scottish island, powered by renewable energy – £90,000
· Klank (St Andrews)- Klank is a live-music booking service that connects musical performers, event hosts, and fans in an intuitive, streamlined, mobile application – Young EDGE, £10,000
· Local Caddie Ltd (Edinburgh) – Local Caddie is an innovative virtual platform connecting Golf Tourists and Scottish Caddies – Wildcard, £10,000
· Marked: Wayfinding System (Glasgow) – MARKED: Wayfinding System, is a micro-mobility management and navigation system that aims to redefine how people experience cycling and scooting in the city – Young EDGE, £10,000
· Oir Soap Ltd (South Queensferry) – At Oir we make luxury, plastic-free soaps using all natural and sustainable ingredients. The bars are deigned to replace shower gel – STV, £65,000 + £75,000 ad airtime
· Nami Surgical Ltd (Glasgow) – Nami has developed a miniaturised ultrasonic scalpel for robotic assisted surgery. Nami is an innovative B2B OEM for surgical robot manufacturers – £80,000
· Planner Bee VA Services Ltd (Aberdeen) – Planner Bee VA Services is a Virtual Assistant Service supporting sustainable and ethical businesses to make a buzz with their digital marketing – Young EDGE, £10,000
· Practest (Kirkwall) – We are on a mission to change how GPs communicate with their patients. Developing the Practest product (trading name), responsible for commercialisation and customer – Wildcard, £10,000
· Pro Dispense (Hamilton) – A protein machine that dispenses a smooth organic blend of protein and other key supplements such as creatine, on demand whenever the user requires – Young EDGE, £10,000
· Prozymi Biolabs (Edinburgh) – A biotech start-up that aims to revolutionise the gluten-free market using gluten-degrading enzymes for the production of gluten-free bread made of wheat – IBioIC, £65,000
· Quine Ltd (West Lothian) – Quine Magazine, the only digital-first publication for women in Scotland. Quine covers the latest in fashion, beauty, lifestyle and careers – Young EDGE, £10,000
· Research in Dreams t/a Hubble Bubble (Edinburgh) – Hubble Bubble is an online AI-based platform matching international students with the right course based on their passion at the top universities in the UK – £70,000
· Screen Hustler (Glasgow) – Screen Hustler is a talent marketplace and portfolio platform for the film and TV industry – Young EDGE, £10,000
· Selki Store (Stirling) – We aim to help people living with chronic pain by contributing to the understanding of their needs, and by creating functional heat-packs – Young EDGE, £10,000
· SIP IT (Scotland) (Aberdeen) – SIP IT takes pride in being Scotland’s only PUR SIP manufacturer of structural insulated panels – £85,000
· Tabrifabrics (Aberdeen) – Tabrifics® is a new small-batch Scottish confectionery company, which is passionate about bringing new life to our nation’s classic confection – Young EDGE, £15,000
· The Prebiotic Company (Edinburgh) – The Prebiotic Company’s principal business activity is the sale of our own innovative prebiotic water under the brand name ió fibrewater – £70,000
· Tourprism (Stirling) – Tourprism develops a web application that empowers tourism businesses with customized feedback insights, crucial for their business strategy and tactical decisions – Wildcard, £10,000
· Ujaama Spice (Edinburgh) – Scottish spice trading business, committed to decolonizing the traditional supply chain and shifting the stigma surrounding spice commodities – Young EDGE, £10,000
· Venturithm (Glasgow) – Venturithm is a web-based simulation platform that supports entrepreneurs by transforming market research into financial projections, enabling a new level of business model experimentation – Wildcard, £10,000
· 2B Jumps (Edinburgh) – 2B Jumps has created an innovative showjump design that increases horse welfare, rider safety and enhances course building efficiency and accessibility – Wildcard, £10,000
The voice of business is being heard at the heart of government, Wellbeing Economy Secretary Neil Gray has told industry leaders.
Addressing the Scottish Chambers of Commerce annual dinner in Glasgow, Mr Gray said he was committed to strengthening the partnership with business and consulting on policy.
He also acknowledged the need to tackle labour and skills shortages and confirmed the Scottish Government would update shortly on plans for the reform of lifelong education and skills training.
Mr Gray said: “Growth is fundamental to a vision for a wellbeing economy and business plays a crucial role in achieving that.
“The New Deal for Business Group aims to ensure businesses can navigate the policy development process. This will mean they can contribute more effectively, ensuring that informed choices are made by government around the timing, content and practical consequences of new policies.
“The voice of business is not just being listened to, it is being put at the heart of government. We have published an implementation plan on recommendations deriving from the New Deal Group and I am very conscious that, to keep earning your trust, I must deliver on it.
“This will not provide a solution to all policy issues or stop differences of opinion, but I hope it will ensure that operate on the basis of no surprises. Our policy should be informed by your expertise and your business planning should be informed by clear, early signals of policy.
“We continue to work with industry to develop our Talent Attraction and Migration Service and create the conditions to help business flourish and, in turn, drive economic growth that benefits all of society.”
