Female powerhouses are fuelling Scottish economy, guest blog by Irene Graham OBE, CEO of ScaleUp Institute

If you want to see today where the Scottish economy is firing on all cylinders, look at your women business champions.

The number of visible, scaling female founded or co-founded  businesses has surged by a staggering 81% over the past year. These 139 powerhouses - including the likes of pizza disrupter Ooni, creative arts giant LS Productions, and life sciences firm Amici - now generate £1.5 billion in revenue and employ over 16,000 people.

These women-led firms are growing at twice the national rate, the new Female Founder Scottish ScaleUp Index shows.

The data is key: the Government’s Pathways Report identified better reporting as critical for change. Our Index shows Scotland already ranks second in the UK for female scaleup growth, outperforming the national average in turnover and employment.

Scottish Female-run, scaling firms presided over a 65% uplift in turnover and a 48% rise in employment last year. They already comprise 19% of all visible scaling businesses in Scotland. They cross every sector, from food to professional services, wellbeing to hospitality, with 39 percent in the industrial sectors and every region of Scotland - 47 percent reside outside Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Eight in ten Scottish female entrepreneurs feel they have little business support, compared to 40% of Scottish male-led firms. These companies want better access to funding; overseas market introductions and insights with specialised export funding; procurement opportunities, easier access to talent, including NXDs, alongside university R&D collaborations, to navigate the leap from scaling Scotland to global players.

While equity investment into these women-founded businesses jumped 80% last year to £116.5 million, that money is being funnelled into a small pool. Of Scotland’s 139 scaling female-run firms, the lion’s share of that capital went to just around 20 businesses.

This leaves an enormous pipeline of female businesses bootstrapping, or relying on important bank finance, while their male counterparts find it far easier to tap the equity  funding keg and deploy equity growth. Only 10% of total Scottish scaling investment goes to female founded firms.

That's why the Pathways Pledge remains so vital in connecting investors with female founders. Pledge participants such as BGF, OCC Ventures (University of Edinburgh), Par Equity, and Scottish Enterprise, are leading the way in backing these scaling firms and it remains vital that not only they continue to do so but others dial up their focus, including in angel investment, as the opportunity is clear.

We also continue to need to rethink how our education system serves entrepreneurship as the Pathways report is focussed on. Scaling female founders want to see a more entrepreneurial curriculum including a maths curriculum that reflects modern technology; better education on investment and funding; and enhanced accreditation for digital skills.  Pathways Pledge members like AccelerateHER are key.

The potential scaleups of the future, such as carbon testing firm Agricarbon UK, make up brand Vieve and crop protection business Solasta Bio, can soar within a supportive ecosystem that the Pathways Pledge is building.

The opportunity is sitting right in front of us: let’s not waste it.

https://www.scaleupinstitute.org.uk/reports/female-founders-scottish-scaleup-index/

Beyond the Podium: Why the biggest wins are now off the field, guest blog by Professor Ross Tuffee

In 2020 the world’s most valuable sports team, the Dallas Cowboys, was worth £3.5 billion - just 5 years later their value had almost tripled to £9.6 billion.

Sport is big business.  Teams’ valuations have grown with the surge in media rights fees, but investment is flowing into sport for other reasons.  Over £50 billion was invested in the sports sector between 2020 and 2025, with 28 new funds announced in 2025 bringing £7 billion of fresh capital into sports.

Investment in sport is on the rise closer to home, with unprecedented outcomes.  With a third of the football season to go, Hearts of Midlothian remain at the top of the Scottish Premiership. A closer look reveals the role that data and technology are playing in closing a historic performance gap with clubs who have traditionally topped the League.

Why is so much money flowing into developing sports technologies?

Funding doesn't just help teams recruit the best talent to bolster team performance, investment in technology accelerates post injury return to play; engages fans on gameday and beyond; supports live decision making; helps manage events, incidents and venues and eases athlete career transition/retirement/2nd career, etc.

Investment in the sport sector is not the whole story, however.  Sport provides an access point to other industries which have potential to deliver huge impact (both economic and social) across Scotland.  Solutions originating in performance improvement and injury prevention/recovery deliver benefits into health and wellbeing and, ultimately, longevity.

Fan engagement relies on constant, granular content creation, a capability applicable to any consumer facing organisation. Sports also provides routes to market for technologies that support incident management, sadly relevant for any venue hosting large gatherings of people from sport to music, to shopping centres.

And what about the barriers to scaling these technologies?  Investors want proven solutions and SportsTech founders therefore need test-beds where they can validate their prototypes and access data and athletes/users.

Scotland hosts many international sporting events, from the Six Nations Rugby (yes, we really did need to mention that!) to The Commonwealth Games 2026 and The Tour de France 2027 (Grand Depart in Edinburgh and passing through The Borders). These, and future events, provide ideal testing grounds for technologies ranging from automated vehicles and drones to pay per view.

We even have access to “guaranteed surf” at Surf Lab, a joint venture between Edinburgh Napier University and Lost Shore Surf Resort in Edinburgh!

Our sporting universities operate at high levels when it comes to athletic performance, potentially providing access to athletes, teams and individuals as well as equipment that can be used for validating new products.  We need to increase the number of collisions between supply and demand – which is why we are creating MotionLab Ventures “a living lab for sports innovation” and why MotionLabs has teamed up with The Venture Cafe Edinburgh to run a series of SportsTech themed events through 2026.

Our shared ambition – To make Scotland the place where SportsTech founders and businesses come to develop, test and scale their technology.

Professor Ross Tuffee is a tech founder, investor and Entrepreneur in Residence at The University of Stirling, Scotland’s University for Sporting Excellence.  He is the co-author of Scottish Government’s Policy:  The Entrepreneurial Campus Blueprint.

Closer UK-Germany ties spurring Scottish business links, by Jeremy Grant

When you think of Scotland’s links with Germany, perhaps 2024’s invasion of Munich by the Tartan Army for the Euro football tournament comes to mind.

Or the fact that Edinburgh’s twinning with the Bavarian city is the Scottish capital’s oldest such partnership.

Yet recent developments in the bilateral relationship between the UK and Germany that mean those links are now being defined by something far bigger: the rapid re-alignment of the UK’s relationship with the rest of Europe amid a world of “rupture”, as Canadian prime minister Mark Carney recently described global geopolitics.

A key moment came last year with the signing of the “Kensington Treaty”, covering a huge sweep of areas from defence and security to North Sea energy. There is even a taskforce being set up to examine building a direct rail link between London and Germany within the next decade.

Berlin and London also pledged to set up a joint “Business-Government Forum” to promote business cooperation, with the first meeting scheduled for April.

Against this backdrop, activity is ramping up in the Scottish context. This month Germany’s consulate in Scotland convened an event for startups, investors and policymakers at the Glasgow campus of Barclays and backed by the Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and British Chamber of Commerce in Germany. The aim was to explore ways to boost collaboration between the startup ecosystems of Scotland and Germany.

Christiane Hullmann, German consul general in Edinburgh, told the audience this had been limited by German investors and corporates tending to focus on London and the Oxford-Cambridge corridor, while Scotland’s thriving startup sector was still under the radar in Germany. “This is a missed opportunity on both sides, and it’s time to change that,” she declared.

Attendees included representatives from Celtic Renewables, which runs Scotland’s first refinery for green biofuels at Grangemouth; Edinburgh-based Think Tank Maths, which uses mathematics to provide more accurate satellite tracking in space; and QuickBlock, a Stirling-based startup that makes modular structures from recycled plastic for use as exhibition stands, humanitarian relief huts and military training facilities.

Andrew Vincent, QuickBlock chief executive, said he saw Germany as “the doorstep to a growing European market” after the company made its first sale there last summer.

Business going the other way already makes Germany the second largest source of inward investment into Scotland after the US, while over 150 German companies operate in Scotland, employing 18,000 people.

The challenge now will be to attract German startup and investor interest in Scotland’s strengths in artificial intelligence, robotics, life sciences and space, where Glasgow leads Europe in small satellite manufacturing.

There is some movement. German rocket company Rocket Factory Augsburg this week said it had initiated transport to Scotland of the first stage of a rocket that’s scheduled within months to make the first flight from Shetland’s SaxaVord launch site. Travel will be made easier between Glasgow and Hanover with the launch in June of a new route on the Eurowings airline, part of Lufthansa.

Richard Lochhead, Scottish government business minister, told the event: “Like Scotland, Germany is going through rapid technological transformation and one that aligns with Scotland’s strengths”.

Scotland’s Second Enlightenment depends on us, by ClearSky Logic Co-founder and CEO Darren Auld

The Scottish economy stands today at a profound inflection point. Technology is reshaping societies and industries at a pace that feels almost impossible to grasp. Artificial intelligence, automation, and digital infrastructure are transforming the way we live and work. Yet for Scotland, this moment has a deeper resonance: a historical echo that calls us to lead again.

Three centuries ago, a small nation at the northern edge of Europe gave birth to the Enlightenment. Thinkers, scientists, and innovators shaped ideas that rippled far beyond our borders. Scotland once punched so far above its weight that it altered the course of civilisation. The question now is whether we can channel that same creative force into a new, tech-driven renaissance, or risk becoming a country that talks about innovation rather than delivers it.

We can’t, and shouldn’t, attempt to compete head-to-head with the deep pockets of the US, China or the EU. Instead, we need to do what has always defined Scotland at its best: outperform our size, combine pragmatism with boldness, and create global impact from local ingenuity.

That spirit is alive today in our emerging generation of founders, engineers, and academic pioneers. Scotland’s future prosperity will depend on our ability to scale businesses globally from here at home. And the good news is that we have already proven it can be done. 

The success stories of Skyscanner, FanDuel and others haven’t just built wealth; they’ve recycled expertise, capital, and ambition back into the ecosystem. These founders and operators are now leading or advising new businesses across applied AI, healthtech, and green infrastructure, essentially seeding what could become Scotland’s next wave of innovation.

The recently published Entrepreneurs’ Manifesto for Scotland captures this shift. Led by Sir Tom Hunter and The Hunter Foundation, and backed by more than 200 business leaders, it argues that while Scotland has all the right ingredients - talent, ambition, and world-class research - we are held back by over-regulation and fragmented government support. The challenge is not one of potential but of cohesion and pace.

AI is the defining disruptor of our era, and here Scotland has an under-appreciated advantage. We have renewable power in abundance - in 2022 generating the equivalent of 113% of our electricity needs - and a cool climate that reduces the energy burden of data centres. In an age where high-performance computing demands both green power and scale, Scotland’s geography offers a natural edge.

We won’t outspend Silicon Valley, nor should we try. Our path lies in specialisation - in fintech, data ethics, digital health, and green AI infrastructure. Edinburgh’s fintech cluster alone has doubled in size since 2021, with more than £1 billion invested in 2025. That momentum must be matched by policy ambition.

Government can only go so far. Business must lead. We need to connect founders, investors, and institutions around a shared national mission: to build an economy that is innovative, international, and inclusive.

The first Scottish Enlightenment reshaped the world. The second will depend not on philosophers but on entrepreneurs, and on our collective willingness to act.

Basque Country's advanced manufacturing prowess provides blueprint for Moray, guest blog be Elevator CEO Rachel Ross

Moray and the Basque Country sit well over a thousand miles apart, but economically they have more in common than many regions closer to home.

Both are places shaped by manufacturing rather than finance.  Both have a high proportion of family-owned firms, often passed down through the generations.  Both sit outside the orbit of dominant capital cities, with businesses that have learned to be resilient, practical, and quietly ambitious.

And both have faced the same underlying question over the past two decades: How do long-established manufacturing strengths remain competitive as energy systems, supply chains, and industrial markets change?

The Basque Country is often referenced because it chose to answer this question early, and to do so deliberately.  Today, manufacturing accounts for almost 25 per cent of the Basque economy, almost double the European average.  The region consistently ranks among Europe’s strongest industrial exporters.

Crucially, this success is not driven by large corporations.  It is underpinned by dense networks of SME manufacturers, many of them family-run, supplying energy, transport, advanced manufacturing, and industrial systems across global markets.

Energy transition played a central role in the Basque Country becoming a global champion, and that context matters for Moray today.  Scotland’s offshore wind pipeline, port and harbour investment, grid upgrades and industrial decarbonisation programmes represent long-term markets that will reshape Moray’s regional economy.

The question is not whether change is coming, rather how local businesses choose to engage with it.  That is where the Manufacturing Innovation Centre Moray (MICM) comes into focus.

A Moray Growth Deal project led by Highland and Islands Enterprise and delivered by Elevator, with funding from the UK and Scottish Governments and HIE, the Forres-based hub which is set to open its doors in April will support manufacturers across Moray and the wider Highlands and Islands to adopt advanced technologies, drive innovation, and power growth.

MICM should not be seen simply as a new building or another business support offer. Its real opportunity lies in acting as a practical interface between Moray’s manufacturing base and the markets forming around it. Not by prescribing solutions, but by creating space for informed decision-making.

For established manufacturers, that might mean understanding how current capabilities stack up against future procurement requirements. Where the gaps are, and how to close them. For some, it may be about modest process changes or certifications.

For smaller SMEs and micro businesses, the Basque experience offers an important reassurance. Participation in new supply chains does not have to mean growing beyond comfort or capacity. In the Basque Country, many small firms engage through consortia, contributing specialist services or components as part of a wider offer. That allows businesses to remain focused on what they do best, while accessing opportunities that would otherwise feel out of reach.

The Basque Country did not transform through instruction. It evolved because manufacturers chose to engage, one opportunity at a time, supported by institutions that understood their realities and respected their judgement.

Moray now has the chance to shape its own version of that story.

Agentic AI provides big opportunity to grow Scotland’s GDP, guest blog by Martin Boyle, VP of Transformation at CodeBase

Even if you aren’t an economist, you know the term GDP. It is the benchmark of our national success. Politicians of all persuasions promise that growth will deliver everything we need - higher standards of living, better-funded public services and more jobs. It is the horizon we are all told to chase.

They are also certain that this vision of mercurial economic growth will only be achieved if we embrace the opportunities of Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI is no longer a tech trend - it is the primary engine that will finally move the needle on Scotland’s productivity.

The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) is leading the charge. In 2025, it argued that AI is the key to reversing the UK's long-term trend of weak growth, with the potential to add around 10% to 16% to cumulative GDP growth by the mid-2040s. TBI suggests AI could increase annual GDP growth by as much as a full percentage point through the 2030s.

So, what does that actually mean? It is hard to see how getting AI tools like CoPilot or Gemini to write better emails or pithy social media posts is going to deliver exponential gains. If AI is only a digital person assistant, the national impact will remain negligible.

With Scotland’s GDP growth currently forecast to hover around 1% to 1.3% through to 2027, we must move beyond AI automation - AI doing the same things slightly faster. To move the dial on national GDP, we need to embrace AI with agency. Enter stage left, Agentic AI.

Traditional AI automation is like a digital filing clerk. It follows rigid instructions. In contrast, Agentic AI acts like a virtual general manager. It doesn't just draft the email, it analyses the supply chain disruption caused by snow in the Highlands, reasons through the logistical alternatives, negotiates with vendors, and executes a solution. This is a digital employee.

Agentic AI is an opportunity for Scotland’s economy. While global tech hubs are racing to build the biggest models, the real economic growth prize lies in architecting how these models act within our core industries - they’re applicable from FinTech in Edinburgh to Renewable Energy in Aberdeen and Space tech in Prestwick.

The barrier to the TBI predicted annual GDP boost isn't the technology, it’s the skills bottleneck. Scotland has approximately 65,000 software developers - most have been trained to build systems that wait for human commands. To unlock AI Agency, we need to upskill our senior talent to build systems that can reason and plan.

If Scotland remains a consumer of other nations’ Agentic AI solutions, we will see only marginal gains. But if we empower our seasoned developers to become Agentic Architects, we aren't just improving personal productivity - we could re-engineer significant elements of our economy.

When Scotland masters Agentic AI, it can transform from a participant in the AI revolution into its engine room, ensuring that the promises of GDP growth can become a tangible reality.

It's like the world's gone mad and no mistake, by Jeremy Grant

If you are bewildered by world events and wonder how this can possibly be so with January not even over, you are assuredly not alone.

The United States invades Venezuela and captures its president. Greenland is sucked into “the Donroe Doctrine”. Conflict rages in Ukraine and Sudan. Closer to home, a Russia-flagged oil tanker is seized by the US in waters between Iceland and Scotland.

The politicisation of economic and financial policy proceeds apace. Exhibit A: the opening of a criminal investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jay Powell by the US justice department over a renovation of the Fed’s headquarters in Washington.

Meanwhile, gold (and silver) prices, as well as the FTSE, keep hitting record highs. And questions persist about whether there is an AI market bubble.

How to make sense of it all? At times like this – actually, there has never been a time like this, let’s face it – what’s needed is a forum for measured, informed debate that tries to make sense of our increasingly Hobbesian world.

Luckily, the brainiacs behind The Library of Mistakes have created just such a thing in the form of a weekend retreat in the bookish town of Hay-on-Wye, on the Herefordshire-Wales border. It’s called the “Weekend of Mistakes”.

  First, The Library of Mistakes. This is a financial history library tucked away down a cobbled street in Edinburgh’s New Town. It was founded in 2014 by former Baillie Gifford investor Russell Napier, convinced that if we knew more about the financial mistakes of the past, we might avoid repeats.

In 2023, Napier and a friend from shared financial days, Paul Greatbatch, cooked up a plan to create an annual discussion forum for current economic and political questions and their impact on financial markets — and vice versa. “A Glastonbury for financial historians,” as Napier puts it.

They landed on Hay-on-Wye, in part thanks to Greatbatch and his wife’s involvement in the restoration of medieval-era Hay Castle, where the Weekend of Mistakes happens every March.

Having attended last year, I can report that it’s an intellectually stimulating gathering of the curious and opinionated. A key ingredient – probably the key ingredient - is the natural mingling between audience and speakers, right through to the casual dinner that rounds off the Saturday.

“We take lessons from the past that might illuminate the current worlds of economics, politics, society and investment, and how they are interconnected,” explains Greatbatch. “And most important in the mix, all this is done in a beautiful setting and in an atmosphere that’s friendly, collegiate and fun.”

This year’s programme includes a session examining Japan as an investment opportunity, another on whether Gen Z will renege on boomers’ pensions policies, and one that asks simply: “Can Britain Get Its Mojo Back?”

Speakers include Mona Siddiqi, professor of religion and society at Kings College, London, Anat R. Admati, George G.C. Parker professor of finance and economics at Stanford University’s graduate school of business, Jesse Norman, MP, and Financial Times columnist Katie Martin.

Merryn Somerset Webb, Bloomberg columnist and podcaster and regular participant, has one simple measure for the quality of proceedings: it has “the best audience questions at any event I ever do”.

www.weekendofmistakes.org

How deep is your tech? By Nick Freer

A report published by McKinsey in October, titled ‘Europe’s deep-tech engine could spur $1 trillion in economic growth’, reminded readers that Europe has lagged behind the United States when it comes to building billion-dollar technology companies, with the region clocking lower related GDP growth along the way.  

McKinsey defines deeptech companies as those that “turn technological breakthroughs into scalable, value-generating businesses to solve societal problems”, and believes Europe could be on the verge of attaining the global leadership role that has eluded it so far.  

Writing for this column last month (‘Deeptech’s economic prize is significant for Scotland’), tech founder Allan Cannon concurred that deeptech, “built on advances in engineering, science, and applied research, is moving back to the centre of economic and strategic importance”. 

The accepted formula is that greater prosperity can be gained outside of recognised tech superpowers like the US and China centred on venture capital-backed intellectual property (IP) developed here.  

So, where are analysts looking at for breakout happenings in European deeptech?  Munich in Germany certainly appears to be one of the tech hubs to watch.  In 2017, I visited IBM’s global IoT headquarters in the city, the Technical University of Munich (TUM), and the Munich Technology Center (MTZ) which houses many of Bavaria’s most highly-rated startups, and it was apparent that big shakes in tech were afoot.  

Fast forward almost a decade, and a handful of those startups have become unicorns, companies valued at over $1 billion, or as some commentators have christened them, ‘Munichorns’.  One of them, Proxima Fusion, which has raised €200 million to date, plans to build what it calls a “stellarator’, a device it believes will translate to commercial fusion power, producing limitless amounts of clean and safe energy. 

While fusion companies like Proxima could help to reduce Europe’s reliance on foreign oil and gas, vertical farming technology is tackling some of the world’s greatest societal challenges - largely food production and climate change - while rockets and drones have become increasingly important for national security.  

The technologies supporting the progress in deeptech - quantum computing, robotics, augmented reality, and semiconductors among them - are maturing and driving innovation across multiple industry sectors. 

While AI is helping to ease the high costs of deeptech development, when you’re a startup trying to address a worldwide societal challenge, you’re still going to need much bigger investor cheques.  Unlike software or consumer technology, deeptech investments have longer development timelines, greater capital expenditures, and are characterised by a higher degree of scientific or engineering innovation.  

Following last year’s Mansion House Accord, European and UK pension funds can now invest more in startups here, but for our most ambitious startups the likelihood is that they will still have to access deep-pocketed VCs on the other side of the pond. 

Back to McKinsey’s report, the global management consultancy firm says: “Founders, academics, government officials, industry leaders, and investors will need to collaborate to create a supportive ecosystem that provides the funding, networks, and regulatory support that deep-tech businesses need to scale”. 

Housing market is looking stable in Year of Fire Horse, guest blog by John Boyle, Director of Strategy and Research at Rettie

2026 is the Chinese Year of the Fire Horse, a sign that only gallops around every 60 years and is associated with dramatic transformation. It is said to bring both chaos and progress, good fortune and bad.

Turning to Scotland’s housing market, our forecasts may seem tame by comparison, but we can assume that the Fire Horse’s hooves will not scorch property values too severely this year.

Last year we predicted that 2025 would be a steady year for Scottish housing, and that has proved accurate. House prices rose modestly, likely around 3 per cent by year end, while transactional sales growth looks set to slightly exceed our forecast of 5 per cent.

Private rents also moderated as the sector adjusted to a more stable environment following the passage of the Housing (Scotland) Bill. New build activity has increased modestly, but the sector continues to face significant viability challenges and limited access to effective land. As a result, housing delivery remains well below pre-pandemic levels.

So, how is 2026 shaping up? We forecast average house price growth of around 3 to 4 per cent, broadly in line with recent years. That is likely to be only slightly ahead of consumer inflation, reflecting a stable market where demand is rising gently as interest and mortgage rates ease. Bank lending remains sensible and steady, and affordability constraints continue to cap price growth.

Rents are expected to increase modestly, by around 4 to 5 per cent, as landlords adjust to inflation and seek to align properties with market values ahead of potential rent controls in 2027. Again, affordability will temper further increases as rental supply slowly recovers.

House sales in Scotland have been steady for more than a decade, averaging about 100,000 transactions annually. That stability contrasts sharply with the pre-2008 boom years when volumes regularly exceeded 150,000.

With steady economic and wage growth forecast by the Bank of England and others, we expect this to feed through to the housing market. Sales transactions are projected to rise between 2 and 5 per cent in 2026, following the small but notable uplift seen last year. A larger jump of more than 5 per cent appears unlikely in the near term.

We are not expecting major property tax changes in Scotland’s January Budget, though there may be a temptation to align with the UK’s decision to raise property income tax rates by 2 per cent. A safe and unremarkable Scottish Budget would be welcome, though the Fire Horse may have other ideas.

A mansion tax seems unlikely (at least in this Budget) given the measures that would be required to introduce it.

The last Year of the Fire Horse was 1966, a year when England won the World Cup. Here is hoping 2026 brings Scotland its own version of good fortune.

If you build the ecosystem the founders will come, guest blog by Jon Hope, CodeBase's chief strategy officer

The Ecosystem Exchange conference in Edinburgh began with a simple provocation: if founders shape the future, who is shaping the ground they build on?

When we launched the event in 2024 with Barclays Eagle Labs and the Edinburgh Futures Institute, that question had no real home. The UK had conferences for startups and investors, but few for the people responsible for creating the conditions that make innovation possible.

Two editions later, the answer is emerging. When ecosystem builders gather with intent, something shifts. A fragmented landscape begins to act like a community. Conversations move from polite abstraction to honest deep dives. Productive friction surfaces faster. Alignment does not mean consensus, but clarity, and clarity is the foundation on which national ambition is built.

The 2025 Ecosystem Exchange underscored a truth many already sensed: the UK cannot wait for a perfect blueprint from elsewhere. The dominant narratives of the United States and China are often misread as inevitabilities, yet their stories are still being written too. If we want a future that works for us, we must write it ourselves. That requires a different kind of ecosystem, one built on trust, mission-driven ambition, and the ability to turn world-class research into real products at real speed.

Across two days of conversation, a pattern emerged around technology. It is no longer a scarce asset. In a world of abundant models, open-source tools and affordable computational power, technology itself has become a commodity. Trust is now the true differentiator. The fundamentals still matter: solve meaningful problems, build products people want, find customers early. But ecosystems will only thrive where institutions earn founder trust through coherence, transparency and delivery.

Nowhere is that opportunity clearer than in our universities. The UK has extraordinary research depth, yet the journey from discovery to deployment remains slow and uneven. We do not lack innovation; we lack translation. The growing conversation around “scale-outs,” ventures built from research with experienced operators embedded from the start, points toward a more ambitious model. It respects academic excellence while accelerating commercial execution. This is not about replacing spinouts but complementing them with structures designed for speed.

What stood out most at this year’s Exchange was the appetite to think bigger. Participants from every region and sector recognised that their challenges rhyme more than they differ. Whether in Scotland, Manchester, Bristol or Oxford, the task ahead is similar: connect what already exists, collapse silos, strengthen incentives and build national pathways founders can actually navigate. Perhaps most importantly, ensure that the public sector acts not only as funder but as early customer, signalling mission and accelerating adoption.

Ecosystems are ultimately human systems. They thrive when people feel connected, supported and seen, and they stagnate when institutions retreat into defensive postures. What we witnessed in Edinburgh was the early shape of a movement: a collective voice determined to design a UK innovation story that is not derivative, but distinct.

The momentum is real. The belief is real. Now comes the work of turning clarity into action.

Deeptech's economic prize is significant for Scotland, guest blog by Allan Cannon, Founder and CEO at Deep Signal, and Entrepreneur in Residence at CodeBase

A quiet but significant shift is taking place in global technology and investment markets—and it has major implications for Scotland. Deeptech, built on advances in engineering, science and applied research, is moving back to the centre of economic and strategic importance. For founders, investors and policymakers, this represents a rare opportunity to turn long-standing strengths into sustained economic growth.

Deeptech differs from much of the digital economy of the past decade. Rather than consumer apps or platform software, it focuses on solving hard, physical problems: energy generation and storage, advanced manufacturing, defence systems, space infrastructure, robotics, photonics and industrial automation. These technologies are increasingly central to national priorities, from energy security and climate resilience to defence capability and supply-chain independence.

What makes the current moment distinctive is the convergence of deeptech with artificial intelligence. AI is no longer a standalone sector; it is becoming an enabling layer across physical systems. In areas such as energy networks, autonomous platforms, materials discovery and industrial optimisation, AI is dramatically reducing development cycles and costs. Design that once took years can now be simulated, refined and validated at unprecedented speed. This is changing the economics of deeptech venture creation and making it more accessible to venture-backed teams.

Scotland has a long history of invention and engineering excellence, from medicine and telecommunications to computing and energy. Its universities continue to produce world-class research and a disproportionate share of UK research spin-outs relative to population. The challenge has rarely been innovation itself, but scale: too many promising technologies have been commercialised elsewhere or sold early, limiting long-term economic impact at home.

That challenge is now colliding with a changing geopolitical landscape. Globally, there is growing recognition that reliance on external suppliers for critical technologies carries economic and security risks. Energy systems, defence capabilities, space assets and industrial infrastructure are increasingly seen through a strategic lens. Governments and large corporates are actively seeking domestic and technology suppliers, backed by funding, procurement programmes and long-term demand.

Capital is responding in parallel. After years focused on fast-growing digital platforms, global venture capital is shifting back toward its roots in science and engineering-led innovation. In Europe, deeptech now accounts for a rising share of venture investment by value, particularly in energy, defence, space and industrial technology. Investors are drawn by defensibility, long-term relevance and alignment with structural trends rather than short-term consumer cycles.

For Scotland, this alignment is significant. The country combines research depth, applied engineering talent, access to energy and industrial assets, and credible test environments. These factors reduce the gap between invention and deployment—a critical advantage in deeptech. With better alignment between capital, procurement and scale-up support, Scotland can move from being a source of ideas to a place where globally competitive deeptech companies are built and grown.

The economic prize is substantial. Deeptech companies tend to anchor high-value jobs, retain intellectual property and generate export-led growth. For founders, this is a moment to build ambitious, globally relevant businesses. For investors and policymakers, it is an opportunity to convert decades of research strength into long-term economic resilience.

Scottish SMEs want more support to scale, by Nick Freer

A recent survey of Scottish SMEs by enterprise and business support group Elevator, which has supported over 3,500 SMEs over the last few years, revealed findings indicating that business owners are in a relatively confident mood in spite of rising costs and funding challenges. 

According to the survey, 72 per cent of SMEs said their running costs have increased this year.  Meanwhile, two-thirds of SMEs want more external support, while 40 per cent said access to finance is their biggest roadblock to growth.

60 per cent of respondents said grants are their primary source of external finance, 21 per cent said debt finance, with 14 per cent securing equity finance as their primary source.  43 per cent have received support from Business Gateway, 28 per cent from Scottish Enterprise, 13 per cent from Scottish Government, 11 per cent from UK Government, and 6 per cent from Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

51 per cent of respondents said their revenue increased in their last financial year, 23 per cent said revenue decreased, and 26 per cent said turnover stayed at a similar level.

3 out of 4 businesses said they are now using AI, with over half of the sample planning to invest in technology over the next 12 months.  

Commenting on the survey, Graham Ramsay, Director of Lochgilphead-based Midton Acrylics, a design and manufacturing firm that includes Formula 1, Red Bull, and Universal Music among its client base, said: “We have embedded AI and new technologies into our processes, freeing our team up to focus on creativity, innovation, and delivering even more value to our clients.” 

What the survey also mapped out, as discussed by Elevator CEO Rachel Ross on publication, is that innovation in Scotland is not confined to our cities and tech hubs, with innovation happening in every corner of the country. Place and community is important to Scottish SMEs, with 80 per cent citing its impact on business success. 

Asked what effects stronger local entrepreneurship would have in their area, Scottish SME leaders said more local jobs (77 per cent), more opportunities for young people (68 per cent), increased local pride and confidence (62 per cent), better local services (57 per cent), and stronger local supply chains (55 per cent). 

As written about quite extensively in this column, there has been a notable increase in the narrative recently around how we can do better at scaling our startups and SMEs into globally competitive companies. 

I joined CEOs and business leaders at a roundtable event run by Insider Media, a sister title to The Scotsman, at RBS in Edinburgh this week.  While funding routes are never too far down the agenda for scaleups, as they are for SMEs, the chat on the day centred more on the challenges around accessing leadership and NXD talent at the scaleup stage. 

Watch this space for more on that next week. 

Technology can help in prostate cancer battle, guest blog by Forrit CEO and founder Peter Proud

When I was diagnosed with stage 2 prostate cancer, it was a life-changing moment. Like many men, I had no symptoms and only discovered the disease through routine work medicals. Thankfully, early detection meant my treatment was successful. But for thousands of men, the story is very different. Today, 25% - 33% of prostate cancer cases in Scotland are diagnosed at stage 4, when treatment options are limited and survival rates are drastically lower. My mission is to work with Prostate Scotland to help reduce that figure to 10% over the next ten years, and I believe technology can help make it happen.

As CEO and founder of Forrit, a company specialising in digital transformation and AI-driven solutions, I see first-hand how data and innovation can solve complex problems. Healthcare is no exception. The challenge is clear: men are not being diagnosed early enough. The reasons range from lack of awareness to limited access to screening. But what if we could use digital tools to change behaviour, improve education, and make proactive health checks the norm?

Turning data into action

AI thrives on data, and prostate cancer detection is no different. By partnering with healthcare providers, charities, and research organisations, we can create platforms that analyse risk factors including, age, family history, ethnicity and deliver personalised reminders and educational content. Imagine an app that nudges men to book a PSA test, tracks their results, and connects them to support networks. This isn’t science fiction; Following discussions with Dr Iaonna Nixon, Consultant Clinician Oncologist, and prostate cancer specialist, she educated me how behavioural science and current digital tools makes this all achievable with the technology we have today.

Breaking down barriers

One of the biggest hurdles is stigma. Men often avoid conversations about their health. Digital engagement can change that. Interactive campaigns powered by AI can target individuals with tailored messages, using language and imagery that resonate. With modern cloud-based solutions, it is easy to build systems that manage complex content securely and at scale, perfect for national awareness campaigns that need to reach millions while respecting privacy.

Predictive analytics for prevention

Beyond awareness, AI can help predict who is most at risk. By integrating anonymised health data, machine learning models can identify patterns and flag individuals who should seek testing sooner. This proactive approach could dramatically reduce late-stage diagnoses, saving lives and reducing strain on healthcare systems. Dr Ioanna Nixon, Consultant Clinical

A personal commitment

My experience has taught me the value of early detection. It also gave me a purpose: to ensure fewer men face the fear and uncertainty of a stage 4 diagnosis. By combining Scotland’s digital expertise, with the power of AI, amazing clinicians like Dr Ioanna Nixon, and charities like Prostate Scotland, it is possible to create solutions that educate, engage, and empower. The goal is ambitious, cutting late-stage diagnoses from 25%/33% to 10%,but with collaboration and innovation, it’s within reach.

Prostate cancer does not have to be a silent killer. Technology can give men a voice, a choice, and a chance. And that is a future worth fighting for.

Scottish scaleups are sound but near more vision, by Nick Freer

It was announced last week that Infracost, a technology platform used by over 1 in 10 Fortune 500 companies in the United States to track cloud computing costs, raised a $15 million series A investment round led by Pruven Capital with participation by Y Combinator and Sequoia Capital, two of the world’s most storied venture capital firms.  

What many won’t have realised is that Infracost has strong roots in Edinburgh and Scotland.  The founding team of brothers Hassan and Ali Khajeh-Hosseini and Alistair Scott previously built one of the first cloud cost management startups from a base here - and as their latest venture Infracost has a distributed workforce, its teams are now located in San Diego, Orange County, California, and here in Scotland’s capital.

Only Hassan, Ali, and Alistair know the blood, sweat and tears that have gone into turning Infracost into such an investable technology scaleup company - and because Hassan wrote for this column (‘The incredible power of networks for startups’) almost exactly four years ago, when Infracost was in its infancy, it’s insightful to see how clear a vision Hassan had for his company’s success at that time. 

https://www.scotsman.com/business/the-incredible-power-of-networks-for-startups-3455590

Yesterday, at the Barclays Campus in Glasgow, I took part in Kayode Alabi’s The Growth Blueprint Podcast, where we discussed how strategic communications supports scaleup companies like Infracost.

My own experience in this area goes back to Sequoia’s bumper investment into travel search site Skyscanner in 2013, valuing the company at around $800 million en route becoming a tech unicorn with a valuation of over $1 billion the following year.  

I managed to unearth a press report in The Scotsman in early 2012, which stemmed from an interview we arranged for Skycanner’s CEO and co-founder Gareth Williams in which Williams sets out his ambition for Skyscanner to become “Scotland’s first $1 billion web company”.  https://www.scotsman.com/news/transport/ipo-on-horizon-for-skyscanner-1645457

If there is a key word in the paragraph above it is “ambition”, and it’s a prerequisite for any founder on a trajectory to startup success.  Williams had ambition in spades, and a clear vision of how he was going to reach the promised land. 

Fast forward to 2021 and we advised FanDuel founders (who had built Scotland’s other tech unicorn at a similar time to Skyscanner) when they raised the largest ever seed round for a UK startup, with San Francisco-headquartered crypto investment firm Paradigm backing the new venture, sports betting platform BetDEX, to the tune of $21 million. 

And when Index Ventures led Wordsmith AI’s $25 million series A round earlier this year, we worked alongside Wordsmith and Index’s PR team to prepare and execute the press announcement across the UK and international media.  

In Scotland, as various high-level reports have indicated over the last few weeks, we need to raise our collective corporate ambition and hone our vision in order to produce more world-beating companies that will translate to the kind of future economy that will benefit us all.  

How to ensure we scale up Scotland’s startups, guest blog by Shane Corstorphine, Chair, Scottish Scale-Up Panel

Scotland has always punched above its weight when it comes to ideas. From the Enlightenment to fintech, from engines to AI, innovation is woven into who we are. But once again, we’re at a turning point - one that will decide whether Scotland remains a nation of inventors or becomes a nation of scale.

Over the past several months, I’ve had the privilege of chairing an independent panel exploring what it really takes to turn Scotland from a strong startup nation into a true scaleup economy.

We held more than 75 conversations with founders, investors and advisers who are building and backing ambitious companies.  Those discussions have shaped the report: Scaling Scotland – Building the Engine for the Next 50 Years of Prosperity.

Scotland has exceptional startup talent, world-class universities, and a new generation of globally-minded founders.  But the system around them - the infrastructure that helps companies move from early success to sustained growth  - is not yet fit for purpose.  We’re good at starting up, but we need to get better at scaling.

Rapid scaling requires experience and the ability to make big, informed strategic bets. Two critical enablers are venture capital and talent. Capital will flow if we create more great businesses - but that requires scale up experience.

In turn, scaling requires specific talent in three areas: a leadership team with ideally two executives who have significantly scaled before; a committed team ready for the intensity of building something significant; and operationally experienced board members. Scale-ups aren’t 9 to 5 - they’re all-consuming, and for those with the hunger and ambition, it can be a magical experience.

The 15 recommendations in the report aim to unlock talent and funding while helping businesses to excel at execution and market expansion. They’re practical, measurable, and grounded in what works. More importantly, they call for private sector leadership, backed by a public sector that enables rather than directs. This is not about more programmes or bureaucracy - it’s about focus: removing friction, improving coordination, and aligning incentives so ambition can flourish.

If we get this right, scaleups will become Scotland’s growth engine - creating high-value jobs, driving exports, and strengthening communities across the country. The opportunity is real and urgent. Other nations are moving fast, and Scotland cannot afford to watch from the sidelines while our most promising businesses look elsewhere for capital, talent, or markets. We have everything we need to compete globally - if we make bold choices now.

I’m deeply grateful to every founder, investor, and ecosystem partner who contributed to this work, and to the panel for their dedication in reaching the right recommendations for Scotland’s scaleup ecosystem.

This report is a beginning, not an end. Implementation now matters most - alignment across founders, investors, government, academia, and corporates; measuring progress, learning quickly, and staying focused on outcomes. Our shared vision is simple: to make Scotland the best place in the world to start, scale, and stay.

If we deliver on that, the impact will be transformational - for companies, for communities, and for Scotland’s future.

Funnel vision for startups scaling the tech pyramid, by Nick Freer

At a tech conference in Aberdeen on Tuesday, startup founders rubbed shoulders with business leaders and investors to discuss the “future of digital”.   Run by News UK with the support of Opportunity North East (ONE), Scottish National Investment Bank, and CodeBase, there was a stellar cast on show. 

Among them were Ana Stewart, chief entrepreneurial adviser to the Scottish Government and an entrepreneur and investor in her own right, Wordsmith AI CEO and founder Ross McNairn, and Theo Health CEO and founder Jodie Sinclair.  

The gathering of tech talent and investors comes at a time when Scottish tech faces a conundrum, namely that while we now have more startups than ever before, access to early stage capital remains challenging, and as a small nation our brightest technology companies must sell their products beyond our own borders to reach scale.  

Using a pyramid analogy, tech ecosystems need to build a foundational layer of startups at the base of the pyramid, and then when you flip the pyramid over, the tip of the pyramid becomes a funnel that the most successful startups, who become scaleups, move through.  

What is to our advantage, is that in a smaller country like Scotland we can use the domestic market as a test bed before hitting the internationalisation button.  A good case in point would be my youngest brother Matthew’s digital healthcare startup Infix, which won a contract to roll its technology out across Scotland’s NHS health boards last year and is now trialling its software with the Middle East’s largest hospital operator in Abu Dhabi.  

As reported in The Scotsman this week, Ana Stewart has just announced her vision for Scotland as a world-class scaleup nation, and a separate report released next week by a panel of senior business leaders will further explore the pieces that need to be put in place so our highest potential companies can reach for the top of the pyramid. 

If the profile of Aberdeen’s own tech scene has waned against its more storied equivalents in Edinburgh and Glasgow, that narrative needs redressed when you consider that roughly one in ten of Scotland’s startups are now based in or around the Granite City. 

At a dinner on the eve of the conference hosted by Jennifer Craw-led ONE at its tech hub in the centre of the city, I got to meet old friends and new and hear firsthand about the entrepreneurial strides being made in the region, while meeting some local founders who are out on the international coalface.

Fennex, led by husband and wife team Adrian and Nassima Brown, sells its safety management technology to over 20 countries worldwide and recently won a coveted King’s Award for Enterprise.  

And if evidence is needed that Aberdeen is about more than energy tech, you only have to look as far as Chris Herd-founded Firstbase who, backed by US VC firms, scaled a platform that equips teams and supports remote workers with critical IT equipment and services globally. 

Where Scotland meets the world, guest blog by EICC CEO Amanda Wrathall

In late September, the EICC marked its 30th anniversary, a proud milestone for our stakeholders, our team, city partners, and for me personally.

The story of the EICC began in the 1980s, when plans were drawn up to transform the disused railway goods yard behind Lothian Road. Out of that vision came the Exchange District, a regeneration project designed to address two major gaps in Edinburgh’s economy: the need for international standard conference facilities and modern office space to support the city’s growing financial services sector.

Since opening in 1995 with our first business event hosted by Sir Tom Farmer’s Kwik Fit, the EICC has delivered almost £1 billion in local economic impact. This has been measured not only by delegate and visitor spend on hotels, restaurants, and transport, but also through the wider supply chain, the ripple effect of our conferences being felt across Edinburgh and the surrounding region.

Events remain our lifeblood. To date, we have hosted more than 5,000, welcoming over 2 million delegates. The 2013 opening of our Atrium and Lennox Suite doubled capacity, and in 2019 our global standing was underlined when TED’s annual summit returned to Edinburgh.

Events like TED capture the essence of our mission to create an environment which inspires ideas that change the world. But it is not only about world renowned speakers. Conferences at the EICC can act as a force for good, strengthening research, supporting innovation, and benefiting local communities. They help nurture the next generation of leaders in fields such as medicine, technology, and agriculture, ensuring that knowledge shared on our stage translates to lasting change.

A year later, the COVID-19 pandemic forced us to close our doors. In 2021, we reopened as Edinburgh’s main vaccination centre, delivering more than 250,000 vaccinations in partnership with NHS Scotland and NHS Lothian. This was a moment that showed the EICC’s role as a civic asset as well as a conference venue.

As we reflect, we remain grateful to the City of Edinburgh Council, and for the support of boards past and present who have helped to shape our strategy.

Looking ahead, the EICC continues to be a forum where Scotland meets the world and the world meets Scotland. Through knowledge sharing, collaboration, and connection, our conferences have become catalysts for progress, driving economic value and social impact across sectors.

This week, the Société Internationale d’Urologie Congress, which brought specialists from around the world to Edinburgh, supported three early-career researchers from Edinburgh’s universities and NHS Lothian with funded places through our Exchange Initiative Fellowship Programme. This collaboration, part of our wider EICC Impact Network, reflects our belief that every event can leave a positive legacy for the city and its people.

As we move forward from our 30th anniversary, I believe our future will continue to be defined by purpose, with a clear focus on growing responsibly, protecting the environment, diversifying to embrace new opportunities, inspiring ideas that matter, and delivering results that make a positive difference for our clients, our team, and our city.

Can machines make us more human? The paradox of AI in healthcare, guest blog by Bev Dumbleton, chief patient experience officer at Simple Online Healthcare

It’s no secret that 2025 has been the year of AI, and healthcare is no exception. Across the world, artificial intelligence is transforming everything from diagnostics to patient support. More than half of healthcare organisations now use AI to streamline workflows and reduce administrative load.

Used well, AI can free up healthcare professionals to focus on what matters most – patients. That principle underpins our own approach at Simple Online Healthcare: removing task-based processes that don’t require a human touch, and replacing them with automation that does the job faster.

But with transformation comes responsibility. Trust is fragile, and the public is right to expect reassurance around safety, data, and accountability, especially when it comes to their health. A recent Royal College of Radiologists survey found that more than half of the British public weren’t aware AI is already being used in healthcare. Only 40% felt comfortable with it in principle, though that figure jumped to over 70% among people familiar with AI.  Awareness and familiarity, therefore, drive confidence.

As we expand internationally, we’re mindful AI conversations happen globally. The European Union, for example, acknowledges that many challenges remain – from data and regulatory hurdles to cultural and ethical concerns. Regulation is absolutely essential in healthcare but it must go hand in hand with innovation if we are to meet growing patient needs globally. It’s a complex landscape, and one we take seriously.

At Simple Online Healthcare, we deploy AI with care and intention. Our digital agent, Erica, answers patient calls and already resolves around half of all queries. Crucially, if a patient wants to speak to a human, they can, the option is built into every interaction. Our AI agent will offer a response and if a patient advises that this has not fully answered their question, Erica asks if they wish to be transferred to our patient care team.

Erica has only been up-and-running since April – she is constantly evolving and we utilise patient feedback to evolve how she responds. We continually review Erica's transcripts and calls, ensuring that we are optimising her approach and pivoting where we feel she can better respond and assist our patients – and hand over to our care team whenever empathy, reassurance or medical insight are needed.

To use real case examples, if a patient wants order status updates, that’s a task-based process and you don’t always need to speak to a human – AI and automation can handle these types of query seamlessly, using an API plugged into our back office systems. However, when a patient wants to know about the side effects of a certain medication, then it’s imperative that we are there for them on a human level. 

AI does what it’s best at and our people do what only people can do. Ultimately, patients still want to talk to people. AI helps make that possible by giving our teams more time for meaningful conversations – the ones that build trust, understanding, and better patient outcomes. Every innovation we introduce is driven by a single goal: to deliver the very best in patient-centred care.

Language as a business USP: What Gaelic can tech the world about brand and belonging, guest blog by Elevator CEO Rachel Ross

Scotland’s languages tell stories of place, people, and pride. We often reference them with a sense of historic nostalgia, places that time has forgotten that belong in family history and tradition.  Increasingly, however, they also tell stories of innovation. From global whisky giants to artisan creatives, across the Highlands, Gaelic is emerging not just as heritage but as a living asset, one that gives brands authenticity, emotional depth and market distinction.

Across the world, brands tap local language to convey meaning: Moët & Chandon’s French elegance, IKEA’s Swedish simplicity. In Scotland, Gaelic names have long graced global brands: Talisker, Laphroaig, Ben Nevis, evoking wild landscapes, craftsmanship, making something from our wild resources. For whisky, tourism and luxury sectors, Gaelic offers what marketing can’t fabricate: a direct sense of origin and a feel and sense of a real place.

But now entrepreneurs are pushing further: using Gaelic not just as a badge but as a business framework. The Cruthachadh Chothroman – Shaping Opportunities pilot, run by Elevator in partnership with Highlands & Islands Enterprise and Bòrd na Gàidhlig, has showed the business community that Gaelic can shape how Scottish businesses think and operate. All of the modules were delivered bi-lingually, but inclusive to those with different levels of Gaelic understanding.

With delivery and research participation from no less than three of our Scottish universities - Glasgow, Robert Gordon and Strathclyde - the interest in the Gaelic language as a business and brand USP couldn’t be clearer. As Professor Chris Moule from RGU’s Innovation and Business module puts it: “Cruthachadh Chothroman reaffirmed how cultural identity can be integrated naturally into professional business practice.”

One of the participants, Angela Macmillan from Wee Norrag, captured the deeper connection: “Gaelic is woven through all elements of my business… I take inspiration from Gaelic, the songs, traditions and stories used to ensure the language is visible in all that I do.” Her words suggest that for many, Gaelic is more than ornament, it is the heartbeat of their business.

Angela’s success was recognised at the Mòd Business event in Fort William last week, where she was awarded the top pitching prize for innovation and ambition. Wee Norrag creates original artwork and cyanotype prints inspired by nature and landscape, with Gaelic language and symbolism at their core. The award, part of a prize pot celebrating Gaelic enterprise, funded entirely by donations from 11 different Gaelic-led businesses including Skye Candles, Sonas Hotels and JansVans,  reflects a growing confidence in businesses that are culturally grounded yet globally relevant. Other winners of the prize money included Sean Macleod, Gaelic Arts Officer at An Lanntair, and broadcaster Choirstaidh NicArtair, showing the creative diversity now flourishing across Gaelic-led enterprise.

At the awards, I talked about how innovation in Scotland isn’t confined to cities or tech hubs, it’s emerging in communities where culture and language are catalysts for creativity and growth.

That insight has resonance far beyond Gaelic. In an era when customers crave meaning and authenticity, the language of community becomes a dimension of brand trust. To speak in someone’s tongue signals inclusion, respect and genuine roots. Marketing becomes dialogue rather than broadcast.

Which leads me to a timely and provocative connection. In recent press coverage, a proposal in John Swinney’s policy thinking was spotlighted: migrants who learn Gaelic might receive preferential consideration under a new “Live in Scotland” visa, a move intended to tie language and migration policy. While some see it as controversial, the idea underscores a deeper logic: language is being reimagined as both cultural capital and civic capacity. It raises a fascinating question for Scotland’s entrepreneurs: could language itself become an economic driver of belonging?

Elevator’s new Pathways project, taking place early in 2026 in low-income Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) areas in Edinburgh, will engage communities whose first languages may also not be English - Urdu, Punjabi, Arabic among them. Here is where the Gaelic-enterprise model offers a powerful lesson: language difference doesn’t need to be a handicap; it can be an empowerment tool. Helping entrepreneurs articulate identity, whether in Gaelic or Urdu, and embed it in business practice can be a huge benefit and differentiator for Scotland’s economy.

Scotland’s economic future will depend as much on imagination as infrastructure. Recognising language as a business asset, not just a cultural one, redefines innovation. It’s not only about tech; it’s about trust, tone and interpretation. Gaelic shows us that a brand can grow precisely because it speaks differently.

As Scotland moves towards a multilingual, inclusive and welcoming economy, the firms that thrive will be those that see difference not as a barrier but as a brand. In Wee Norrag founder Angela Macmillan’s own words, Gaelic is not just decoration, it is the heartbeat of her business.

Scotland’s tech ecosystem Is growing up – and growing together, guest blog by CodeBase's chief strategy officer Jon Hope

By global standards, the UK’s tech sector remains strong. Ranked third in the world for venture capital investment, it continues to be one of the most active and resilient innovation ecosystems anywhere. But increasingly, the most interesting developments are happening north of the border here in Scotland.

Certainly, the Scottish tech ecosystem shows signs of entering a new phase of momentum and maturity. 2025 began at record pace, with KPMG revealing that more than £100 million was invested in Scottish startups in the first quarter alone. Insight from startup data specialist Beauhurst reinforces this surge, showing that the total value of investment into Scottish companies rose by 108% in Q1 compared with the previous quarter. Between January and early May, Beauhurst recorded over £210 million raised across 99 investment deals - clear evidence of growing dynamism and investor confidence.

Behind these numbers lies a deeper story: the rise of “ecosystem builders” - organisations creating the conditions for startups to thrive. They provide space, capital, mentoring, connections and, increasingly, a sense of shared purpose. CodeBase, which delivers the Scottish Government’s Techscaler programme inspired by Mark Logan’s Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review (STER), is one of the most visible examples. Others, such as STAC in Glasgow, ONE Tech Hub in Aberdeen, and Water’s Edge in Dundee, show how activity is maturing nationwide.

Yet even with this momentum, the landscape can feel complex. Across the UK there are around 500 incubators and accelerators, and roughly 10% of these in Scotland. Add in universities, investors and countless other players, and the picture becomes crowded. Diversity fuels innovation, but without a coherent approach it can also lead to duplication and missed opportunities.

Recognising this, CodeBase co-created Ecosystem Exchange last year with the Edinburgh Futures Institute, Techscaler, Barclays, and the University of Edinburgh. Its aim was simple: connect the connectors. The first event brought together 180 investors, universities, policymakers and ecosystem builders from across the UK to explore how to work more effectively together.

The event had many takeaways, not least that the UK has strong tech ecosystem capabilities but is highly fragmented and inefficient. There was overwhelming agreement that ecosystem building should be approached in the context of a connected UK, rather than as isolated regions.

This November, the event returns on a larger scale, with over 220 delegates and speakers including from Canada, San Francisco, Australia and Finland. The focus is on whether the UK’s tech ecosystem is “future fit”, and how technologies like AI can power the next phase of growth.

Some might dismiss ecosystem building as a passing fad - consultants with buzzwords and flashy events. But that view misses the bigger picture. Tech ecosystems aren’t a trend; they are the infrastructure of modern economic growth. From Estonia to Boston, every thriving region has built success on connected networks of entrepreneurs, researchers, investors and government partners.

For Scotland, building such an ecosystem isn’t optional - it’s essential. It’s how world-class research and local creativity produce globally competitive companies. Without it, innovation remains isolated. With it, Scotland can shape its own economic future.