£4m Scottish fund looks to support the entrepreneurs of the future
by Startacus Admin
A new Scottish scheme to nurture and support up to 40 budding entrepreneurs each year, was yesterday set out by Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, at the Start-Up Summit in Edinburgh.
Backed by £4 million, the Scottish CAN DO Unlocking Ambition Challenge, will link established and successful entrepreneurs with high potential individuals who can demonstrate that their ideas can be a success, create jobs and benefit Scottish society.
Open for entry early in the New Year, the programme will recruit candidates from anywhere in the world – on the basis that
they relocate or establish their business in Scotland. The successful cohort will be mentored and funded as they develop their ideas, receiving bespoke support by partner organisations from the public and private sectors.
The Unlocking Ambition Challenge will be delivered as part of Scotland CAN DO, the programme to support Scotland becoming a world-leading entrepreneurial nation.
The cohort will receive 12 months of funding, mentoring, and incubation with one of the partner organisations. Those demonstrating the most progress will receive support for a further 12 months.
The entrepreneurial mentors, who will select the candidates, include:
- James Watt, co-founder of BrewDog
- Leah Hutcheon, founder of online scheduling business Appointedd
- Cally Russell, founder of multi-retailer shopping app Mallzee
- Chris van der Kuyl, co-founder of videogame developer 4J Studios
- Amy Livingstone, co-founder of baby products company Cheeky Chompers
The fund was launched at the WeAreTheFuture facilitated Startup Summit – a fab annual event to help new businesses in Scotland to grow and thrive.
WeAreTheFuture is a global youth entrepreneurship organisation, which organise global summits across the world to inspire and connect entrepreneurs and is the brainchild of friend of Startacus Bruce Walker, a leading young Scottish entrepreneur.
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
New report reveals the huge impact of Archangels' investments on the Scottish economy in terms of both money generated and jobs created.
Tech companies and professional services firms on the island of Ireland set to meet at the first Innovation Island Connect Networking Event at the upcoming SaaStock Conference in Dublin.
Toqio secures major investment to support further expansion and drive its vision of becoming the world's premier fintech SaaS platform.
Innovate UK KTN’s Sustainable Impact Investment Programme chooses 13 sustainable UK startups striving to change the world
.jpg)
Etihad Airways partners with Aerospace Xelerated and Tawazun Economic Council to seek applications from innovative startups that are working in the digital services and solutions area.
.jpg)
New cross-border collaboration project featuring interactive portal and series of networking events to be delivered by TechIreland and Startacus, with support from InterTradeIreland’s Synergy initiative.
In London later this week and interested in learning how AI can help startups scale? Book your ticket now for this free event from Women in AI featuring a panel of industry experts discussing just that.
The latest Funding Review from TechIreland reveals that Irish Startups raised €746M in the first-half 2022 but early-stage rounds have dropped to a five-year low.
The lowdown on Jiminny and its AI-driven system that transcribes and analyses sales conversations with customers and then provides tailored coaching to sales teams.
London-based SaaS startup Evorra has created a data marketplace enabling brands and agencies to build and scale their marketing audiences.
Published on: 1st November 2017
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.
- Archangels generates up to £1.4bn for Scottish economy 30th Sep 2022 New report reveals the huge impact of Archangels' investments on the Scottish economy in terms of both money generated and jobs created.
- TechIreland & Startacus to host the first Cross-Border B2B Networking Event at SaaStock Conference 30th Sep 2022 Tech companies and professional services firms on the island of Ireland set to meet at the first Innovation Island Connect Networking Event at the upcoming SaaStock Conference in Dublin.
- TOQIO Secures €20M to be the Platform of Choice for Building New Fintech Solutions 29th Sep 2022 Toqio secures major investment to support further expansion and drive its vision of becoming the world's premier fintech SaaS platform.
- Innovate UK KTN launches its 2022 sustainable impact accelerator programme 28th Sep 2022 Innovate UK KTN’s Sustainable Impact Investment Programme chooses 13 sustainable UK startups striving to change the world
