News
How UK's closer ties with Germany are spurring Scottish business links
Scotland’s startup sector is starting to look like an attractive prospect for German investors.
Against this backdrop, activity is ramping up. 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.
Source: The Scotsman
Scottish Gov bets £328m to turn innovation into industry
A new report details the Scottish Government’s progress so far in transforming breakthrough research into commercial success, and outlines big plans for the future. The Scottish Government has pledged to invest more than £328 million to transform the country’s bleeding-edge research into commercial success, a huge cash outlay which the SNP hopes can power new businesses, products and services – making the country an “innovation nation”.
Source: DIGIT NEWS
Retaining top business talent
New investment has been announced to help attract and retain high-growth life science companies in Scotland.
A £35 million Life Sciences Accommodation Programme from Scottish Enterprise will improve the availability of affordable premises to businesses in the sector as they commercialise and expand.
Scottish Government launches life sciences strategy with £25bn ambition
The Scottish Government has launched a life sciences strategy in a bid to push the industry's value to £25 billion in the next decade.
Business minister Richard Lochhead announced "targeted" investment in the sector on Thursday which the Government has said will focus on economic growth, innovation and transform care.
Source: Business Insider
Growing a £25 billion industry
A new plan to help Scotland’s Life Sciences sector become a £25 billion industry by 2035 has been published.
The Scottish Government’s refreshed Life Sciences Strategy sets out steps to build the infrastructure and skills needed while harnessing new technologies such as Artificial Intelligence.
£125,000 Microfinance Fund launched to boost Scotland’s academic innovation pipeline
The Scottish Government and Converge have today joined forces to launch a new £125,000 Microfinance Fund aimed at accelerating Scotland’s pipeline of academic start-ups.
Designed to help students, graduates and university staff take that all important first step towards starting a business, the new initiative will allocate £5,000 to each of Scotland’s 19 universities with grants distributed through university channels.
Tech top of agenda for deputy first minister on Canada trade visit
The tech sector will be top of the agenda for a forthcoming trade visit by deputy first minister Kate Forbes to Canada – which she hopes will encourage investment into Scotland. Forbes jets to Toronto and Nova Scotia today where she will meet banks and assets managers – with a focus on getting more investment into Scotland through key sectors such as digital technology, fintech, renewables and clean energy.
Source: FUTURESCOT
Ministers welcome new loans that will ‘kickstart’ business innovation
Ministers have welcomed plans by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) for a new type of loan for high-growth businesses, saying it will help “kickstart” business innovation in Scotland.
From next year, Scottish firms will be able to secure borrowing against the value of their intellectual property (IP), instead of traditional assets such as buildings and machinery.
Source: STV
Senior UK government figures get behind Scotland’s Global Investment Summit
Four senior UK government minister will be attending Scotland’s Global Investment Summit in Edinburgh this week, hosted by Scottish Financial Enterprise (SFE) and the Lord Mayor of London.
Source: Scottish Financial News
Scottish company data platform launched to drive investment
An open access platform of information on start-ups, scale-ups and established private companies in Scotland has been launched.
Developed through a partnership between the University of Edinburgh, Scottish Government and Techscaler, the Scottish Ecosystem Platform provides includes funding round tracking, investor profiles and market trends.
Source: Business Insider