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Up to £2.6m is being invested in initiatives to make it easier for women and people from all backgrounds to start a business in Scotland
The Scottish government has launched a pilot programme, focusing initially on the south of Scotland, which will fund specialist enterprise coaches to provide tailored advice and guidance to help individuals - particularly women and other under-represented groups - kick-start their business ideas.
Grants of up to £1,000 will be available to give practical help to turning business concepts into a reality.
The pilot will be delivered by South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE) and run alongside a new Scottish government-administered Pathways Fund to support entrepreneurial activity across Scotland.
This builds on last year’s Pathways Pre-Start Fund and will provide support, mentoring and advice services for people starting a company or seeking to expand a fledging business.
Groups currently under-represented in the start-up community, including women, will be particularly targeted.
The two projects will receive a total of up to £2.6m funding this financial year and form part of the Scottish government’s ongoing commitment to delivering the recommendations of the Pathways report on under-representation of women in entrepreneurship.
Deputy first minister Kate Forbes said: ‘Economic growth is one of the key priorities of the Scottish government. Scotland has all the ingredients to be one of Europe’s fastest-growing start-up economies: an economy that is strong, successful and dynamic.
‘I am clear that the Scottish government will play a prominent role in helping build the end-to-end support our start-up business community has to develop and grow.
‘This expanded package of support for entrepreneurs at the start of their journey continues our drive to ensure everyone, from every walk of life, is given the right support and encouragement to make their business idea a reality.’
Chief executive of SOSE Jane Morrison-Ross said: ‘During the pilot, our new enterprise coaches will focus on pre-start up stage, and support individuals to realise their entrepreneurial potential and guide them to the next stages of business whilst helping with the development of an entrepreneurial mindset.’
Entrepreneur and investor Ana Stewart, author of the Pathways report on under-representation of women in entrepreneurship, said: ‘If Scotland is really serious about building a richer, deeper and healthier entrepreneurial economy, we must widen the funnel beyond existing routes to encourage more people to set up and scale their businesses, as opposed to sticking with existing structures and systems; systems we know are not currently reaching a large majority of the population.
‘Whilst there is still much more to do to achieve equal access to entrepreneurship, it's encouraging to see the launch of the SOSE pre-start pilot in tandem with the creation of the light-touch, micro-grant funding, giving would-be founders the best chance of successfully navigating their very first steps into entrepreneurship.’
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