Additional investment in business talent in the Scottish
Budget.
A new £2.5 million package to nurture more young entrepreneurs is
part of record £45 million investment to drive innovation,
enterprise and entrepreneurship across Scotland in 2026-27.
The draft Scottish Budget supports investment in people and
businesses at every stage of their journey, from continued
investment to encourage those from disadvantaged or
under-represented backgrounds to start and grow businesses, to
tailored support for companies scaling up.
There will be further funding for the Scottish Government's
Techscaler programme, which has over 1,900 members across more
than 1,400 startup and scaleup businesses.
Deputy First Minister visited Galashiels to meet
business founders who have been helped South of Scotland
Enterprise's Pathways Pre-Start programme.
The pilot programme is now in a second phase following a
successful pilot in 2024-25 and has so far delivered specialist
coaching to over 700 existing or prospective business founders,
leading to over 220 new businesses being created.
The Deputy First Minister said:
“The Scottish Budget 2026-27 continues our support for the
innovation and entrepreneurial talent that is the backbone of any
prosperous, growing economy. We have been working systematically
to develop the pipeline of support required to help businesses
develop, grow and prosper.
“Scotland is one of Europe's most dynamic start-up economies,
outpacing the UK, and we are making clear progress in
establishing the right conditions to help business founders
succeed. I expect this progress to accelerate as we invest record
funding in helping start and scale Scottish business talent.”
Chief Entrepreneur Ana Stewart said:
“Scotland is making progress toward becoming an
entrepreneurial nation, establishing strong foundations for those
starting their businesses. This year's budget strengthens that
momentum by further investing in proven programmes, including
Pathways Pre‑Start and Scottish EDGE, which increase access into
entrepreneurship and widen participation.
“One of my top priorities is to listen to and support our
entrepreneurs from startup through to scaleup. The
Scottish budget allows us to build on this work as we ensure our
entrepreneurs have the necessary support to start, scale and stay
in Scotland.”
Background
Scottish Budget 2026-27 -
gov.scot
Pathways: A new approach for
women in entrepreneurship - gov.scot
The Tech Nation 2025 Report –
Enabling an Environment Capable of Global Tech
Leadership
Growing at an annual rate of 19%, Scotland is one
of Europe's most dynamic start-up economies and outpaces the UK
(12.5%), France (12%) and even Sweden (10%), one of the world's
most admired start-up economies. Efforts will transform Scottish
innovation into globally competitive companies, highly
paid jobs and lasting prosperity.
