WIREDGOV

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 Kate Forbes 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.