Breaking down barriers to business in Scotland
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Projects are being rolled out across the country to help more women
and people from under-represented groups start their own
businesses. Fourteen organisations will share more than £1 million
of funding from the Scottish Government's Pathways Pre-Start Fund
to deliver a range of initiatives providing practical support
ranging from workshops to care vouchers. The latest grants form
part of a total £6 million Scottish Government investment in
2025-26 to expand the range of...Request free trial
Projects are being rolled out across the country to help more women and people from under-represented groups start their own businesses. Fourteen organisations will share more than £1 million of funding from the Scottish Government's Pathways Pre-Start Fund to deliver a range of initiatives providing practical support ranging from workshops to care vouchers. The latest grants form part of a total £6 million Scottish Government investment in 2025-26 to expand the range of people running their own business and help make Scotland one of the most entrepreneur-friendly locations places in Europe. Projects include:
Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said: “The Scottish Government is focused on fostering Scotland's spirit of innovation to create jobs and drive economic growth. According to the latest Technation report, we are the fastest growing start-up economy in the UK by far and one of the fastest growing in Europe. “By providing the conditions and means for people to launch and develop a businesses, whatever their background or circumstances, we are seeing start-up rates reach record levels. “The projects being funding today get to the heart of tackling under-representation in our start-up community and help ensure we break down barriers for anyone with entrepreneurial talent.” Background The NatWest Group Start Up Index 2025 has indicated a 17.9% increase in Scottish start-up businesses in the first half of 2025. The Young Company Finance Scotland Newcomer Investors Report 2024 indicates a 12% increase in the number of investors making their first investment in Scotland, signalling growing international engagement with Scotland's early stage market. TechNation's 2025 report Unlocking the UK's growth potential shows Scotland recorded the second highest growth in investment in the UK, with investment into Scottish tech startups going up by 120% from 2020 to 2024 According to Beauhurst's The State of UK Investment H1 2025 report, the number of investment deals in Scotland grew by 24% in the first six months of 2025 compared to July to December 2024 The successful projects are: Scottish Asian Business Chamber: Stirlingshire BAME Business Infrastructure Project- grant up to £40,900. The Stirlingshire BAME Business Infrastructure Project, led by the Scottish Asian Business Chamber, aims to build a more inclusive and resilient entrepreneurial ecosystem in Stirling. It focuses on creating a sustainable referral framework and strengthening partnerships between public agencies and diverse communities. Through culturally competent outreach, tailored workshops, networking events, and advisory support, the project will directly engage over 120 individuals and support more than thirty new-start businesses. Spark: What If Craigshill - unlocking the enterprise potential of a community- grant up to £84,215 What If? Craigshill is a six-month community enterprise project led by Spark, designed to unlock entrepreneurial potential and build local economic resilience in Craigshill. The programme aims to support over eighty residents to explore enterprise through practical workshops, peer-led micro-clusters, and digital skills training. Delivered in familiar community spaces such as halls, cafés, the Sky Digital Hub, and the local skateboard park, the project introduces enterprise through informal, low-risk activities like online selling, idea testing, and skill mapping and focuses on building confidence and curiosity. The King's Trust: Enterprise for All - grant up to £74,596. Enterprise for All, delivered by The King's Trust, is a project dedicated to supporting disadvantaged young people aged 16-30 in exploring entrepreneurship as a means of overcoming poverty and economic inactivity. This project will be delivered in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Dundee, with the goal of increasing participation, building confidence, and establishing lasting pathways into enterprise. The programme focuses on engaging 250 young people through outreach, roadshows, personalised support, and digital content, with fifty receiving intensive mentorship, financial support, and tailored guidance. Together Reaching Higher CIC: Entrepreneurs Pathways Lab - grant up to £84,195. Entrepreneurs Pathways Lab, led by Together Reaching Higher CIC, is a six-month, place-based entrepreneurship incubator delivered in Govan, Glasgow, designed to support ethnic minority women, including New Scots, refugees, asylum seekers, and migrants. The programme aims to support 15-20 entrepreneurs, train five peer mentors, and reach up to eighty additional community members, with over two hundred more accessing multilingual digital resources. Participants will receive tailored business development training, mentorship, and access to co-working spaces, culminating in a public showcase to enhance visibility and confidence. PeoplePlus Group Ltd: Supporting Women in Enterprise – grant up to £82,724. Delivered by PeoplePlus Group Ltd, Supporting Women in Enterprise Programme supports two complementary projects aimed at empowering women through enterprise-one within the justice system and one in the wider community. The HMP Stirling Fresh Start Project offers tailored enterprise training to up to twelve women in custody, delivered over two weeks in partnership with the Scottish Prison Service. The programme includes one-to-one support and post-release mentoring, helping participants explore self-employment as a pathway to rehabilitation, economic inclusion, and long-term resilience. Building on successful delivery at HMP Low Moss, it promotes a trauma-informed, person-centred approach to justice and reintegration. The Supporting Women in Enterprise project, based in Glasgow, aims to engage up to 140 women from underrepresented backgrounds-including ethnic minority women, New Scots, refugees, asylum seekers, ESOL students, and those facing employment barriers. Delivered in community settings and at City of Glasgow College, it provides personalised business development, mentoring, and digital learning. Participants will receive support across four stages: assessment, tailored guidance, ongoing mentoring, and evaluation. The programme aims to support one hundred women and establish thirty new female-led businesses, with additional help for childcare, mental health, and access to finance. Rebel Business School & Ziyx Scotland: Rebel Business School - grant up to £111,500. Rebel Business School, delivered by the Rebel School/Ziyx Scotland consortium, aims to provide free, practical business education to underrepresented groups across Scotland through online and in-person delivery. This programme aims to support over 150 individuals, focusing on women, ethnic minorities, disabled people, carers, and those from deprived areas. It focuses on debt-free, action-based learning and peer support to foster sustainable enterprise. This project will deliver a 10-week digital-first Rebel Mondays programme; a one-week Women's Entrepreneurship Course aligned with International Women's Week; a two-week in-person course in high-priority localities (such as Glasgow or Dundee) targeting marginalized groups; 12-15 taster sessions delivered in collaboration with local partners; and a culminating awards event. City of Edinburgh Council and Business Gateway Edinburgh: Bold Beginnings – grant up to £121,864.30. Delivered by Business Gateway Edinburgh, Bold Beginnings Pop-Up Pre-Start Scaler is a place-based enterprise project aiming to support over one hundred women in Wester Hailes and Muirhouse areas of Edinburgh to explore entrepreneurship as a route to empowerment and resilience. This programme focuses on tackling underrepresentation by embedding delivery in trusted local hubs and tailoring support to lived experience. Delivered via Broomhouse Hub and North Edinburgh Arts, Bold Beginnings will include outreach, two six-week incubators for twenty women each, tailored coaching, digital support, care/travel vouchers, and seed funding, concluding with a pitch event and joint showcase. East Ayrshire Council: Step Up: Women's Enterprise Pathway- grant up to £101,000. Step Up: Women's Enterprise Pathway, led by East Ayrshire Council, is a six-month pilot programme designed to address the persistent underrepresentation of women in entrepreneurship across East Ayrshire. This project aims to support 60 - 80 women through proactive outreach, embedded delivery in trusted community venues, and holistic support that includes confidence-building, enterprise training, peer mentoring, micro-grants, and childcare provision. Two cohorts of participants will take part in six themed workshops, one-to-one business advisor sessions, and mentoring from local female entrepreneurs. The programme will conclude with showcase events in Kilmarnock and Cumnock, and the establishment of peer networks to sustain impact. At least twenty new female-led enterprises are anticipated to be established as a result of this project. West College Scotland: Art of Enterprise- grant up to £22,520. Delivered by West College Scotland, Art of Enterprise is a place-based project supporting fifteen women from Inverclyde's most disadvantaged communities, particularly those with caregiving responsibilities, to pursue low-capital, home-based businesses aligned with the region's tourism and cultural economy. Through flexible evening and online masterclasses in creative enterprise, business skills and innovation literacy, participants will gain confidence and practical tools tailored to the realities of time-poor caregivers. This programme aims to connect women with local mentors and embed them in Inverclyde's enterprise ecosystem through partnerships with Business Gateway, the Chamber of Commerce and Women in Business. It will also support twelve existing female-led micro-businesses through Innovation Literacy, fostering reciprocal learning and strengthening the region's innovation capacity. The Melting Pot: Enterprise in Place - grant up to £127,400. Enterprise in Place is a four-month, place-based programme designed to support 5,000 individuals from underrepresented groups to start and grow businesses. Delivered by The Melting Pot, Elevator UK, and Firstport through the Connected Hubs network, it will provide tailored enterprise support in Glasgow, Dunoon, and East Kilbride. Each location will focus on a distinct group: older women facing redundancy, women returners and carers, and young women and non-binary individuals exploring enterprise for the first time. Participants will co-design their learning journey through flexible interventions such as skills pop-ups, micro-incubators, and innovation workshops, supported by locally embedded Community Connectors. Digital Storybook, Practical Toolkit, and Mini Policy Brief will be developed to inform and influence systemic change across Scotland's entrepreneurial ecosystem. 17 Points Limited: Spark the Connection Roadshow – grant up to £73,345. Delivered by the 17 Points Limited and Thistle Labs Ltd consortium, Spark the Connection is a five-month hybrid project aiming to support overlooked aspiring entrepreneurs across six Scottish regions: Aberdeen, Inverness, Dumfries, Melrose, Glasgow, and Perth. This project will offer inclusive, low-barrier access to entrepreneurship through hands-on workshops, curated networking, regional roadshows, and showcase events. It aims to create opportunities for participants to connect with potential co-founders or senior staff, helping reduce isolation and build resilience. The programme will directly engage 100-120 participants and serve as a launchpad into Scotland's wider entrepreneurial ecosystem, providing opportunities for progression to national support such as TechScaler, Business Gateway, or college-led enterprise activities. Social Enterprise Academy: Place-Based Support for Underrepresented Entrepreneurs in Highland & Eilean Siar- grant up to £55,370. Delivered by the Social Enterprise Academy, the Place-Based Support for Underrepresented Entrepreneurs in Highland & Eilean Siar Project aims to strengthen enterprise support in remote rural communities by training thirty-two staff from Development Trusts and other place-based social enterprises across rural Highland and Eilean Siar. The Social Enterprise Academy has confirmed their capacity to facilitate and coordinate their programmes in Gaelic medium. Participants will receive transformational training through two four-day residential programmes-one in Inverness-shire and one in Stornoway-focused on coaching techniques, enterprise planning tools (including the Business Model Canvas and PATH), and peer network development. Over the course of the upcoming year, each trained leader is anticipated to provide guidance and support to approximately ten individuals, reaching a total of 320 underrepresented entrepreneurs. Scotpreneur: Mostly Arsed - An engaging, self-help learning programme for people curious about self-employment but unsure where to start - grant up to £38,728. Mostly Arsed, delivered by Scotpreneur Ltd, is a six-month self-help programme targeting over four hundred people who are curious about self-employment but unsure where to start. It is designed for those often excluded from mainstream enterprise support including unemployed individuals, carers, older adults, rural residents, minority ethnic communities, and young people without role models. Using the Personal Enterprise Map as a guide, participants will explore their goals and barriers through free, accessible resources like podcasts, articles, live social media experiments, pop-up workshops, and online Q&As. Shaped by lived experiences and delivered through trusted community partners, the programme aims to use humour, storytelling, and relatable content to build confidence and make slow, safe starts feel possible. Stirling Enterprise Park (STEP): FeMade -Turning Female Ideas into Impact- grant up to £147,370. FeMade -Turning Female Ideas into Impact, delivered by Stirling Enterprise Park Ltd, is a six-month programme supporting at least forty women across Scotland to turn early-stage business ideas into sustainable ventures. It focuses on those facing barriers to mainstream support, including women from minority ethnic backgrounds, rural areas, low-income households, disabled communities, and those without formal qualifications. It can be delivered in person, online, or in hybrid formats to ensure full accessibility. Participants will receive personalised support including one-to-one business advice, ILM-accredited confidence coaching, up to 35 hours of expert consultancy, and optional workshops on key enterprise topics. Each participant can co-design her own development journey through FeMade's flexible ‘support pot' model. The program will conclude with a showcase event, and participants will be granted ongoing access to STEP's services and alumni network. |