Continued help for small and medium sized firms to update
operations
A national programme helping Scottish companies capitalise on the
benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) has received funding for
its second year.
Backed by £1.8 million of continued funding, AI Scotland will
help small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMEs) to develop new
products and services, grow market share and attract new
investment. The Programme offers support such as mentoring,
workshops and grant funding to help businesses identify AI
opportunities, plan AI implementation and develop and test AI
solutions tailored to their needs.
This funding builds on last year's National AI Adoption Programme
for SMEs which received funding of £1 million and helped more
than 1,000 business.
Speaking at Border Biscuits in Lanark, Innovation Minister Ben
Macpherson said:
Ensuring our businesses have the skills to identify appropriate
AI opportunities and adopt new technologies safely and in line
with Fair Work principles will help drive sustainable growth
across the economy and futureproof Scotland's businesses.
The vast majority of Scottish businesses are SMEs. The
continuation of this programme means that even more of them will
have access to the tools and expertise they need to help grow,
innovate and flourish.
Border Biscuits, an award-winning family business based in
Lanark. The company adopted AI to increase productivity in their
operations through improved data analysis, strengthening
production line monitoring systems, and bolstered sales
forecasting.
Sano-Davies, Sales Director for
Border Biscuits said:
Since introducing AI, I've been really impressed by what it can
do. It has been a great learning experience, and we continue to
discover new ways to help us work smarter and more efficiently.
We're very grateful to the Scottish Government for its support
and for the ongoing training opportunities available to Border
Biscuits. As an SME, this support has helped us embrace new
technology, improve efficiencies and give our team the tools and
confidence to work in new and innovative ways.
Rhona Allison, Managing Director of Company Growth & Scaling
Innovation at Scottish Enterprise, said: "AI is creating new
opportunities for businesses to innovate, compete and increase
productivity. Adoption is accelerating, but many companies still
need support to move from experimentation to meaningful business
impact.
This programme is about helping businesses turn potential into
action. By giving companies, the confidence and capability to
adopt and scale AI, we can help more Scottish businesses boost
productivity, sharpen competitiveness and unlock new
opportunities for growth."
Scotland's AI Strategy is the Government's five-year plan to
harness the potential of AI to drive responsible and inclusive
growth across the economy and make a positive difference at every
level of society.
The Strategy focuses on supporting sustainable growth and
strengthening public services while ensuring that Scotland
remains competitive in an ever-evolving global landscape.
The AI Adoption Programme for SMEs is delivered by our Enterprise
Agencies, Business Gateway and The Data Lab Scotland's innovation
centre for data and artificial intelligence.
Background
Businesses can access support through the programme from 19
August. More information can be found on the AI Scotland
website: National AI Adoption Programme
for SMEs - AI Scotland
GC Insights has estimated that with the right investment and
leadership across the Scottish economy, there is scope for AI to
generate more than an additional £23 billion in annual GDP by
2035.
Data centre planning direction -
gov.scot
