Scottish government unveils £2.5 million boost for young entrepreneurs

The new package forms part of a £45m investment to “drive innovation, enterprise and entrepreneurship” across Scotland in 2026-27.

There will be further funding for the Scottish government’s Techscaler programme, which has some 1,900 members across more than 1,400 start-up and scale-up businesses.

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes visited Galashiels to meet business founders who have been helped by 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 about 700 existing or prospective business founders, leading to 220 ventures being created.

Scotland’s chief entrepreneur Ana Stewart said: “Scotland is making progress towards becoming an entrepreneurial nation, establishing strong foundations for those starting their businesses. One of my top priorities is to listen to and support our entrepreneurs from start-up through to scale-up.

“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.”

Forbes added: “The Scottish Budget 2026-27 continues our support for the innovation and entrepreneurial talent that is the backbone of any prosperous, growing economy.

“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.”