Scotland’s new Techscalers, backed by £42 million of taxpayer support, are open for business and inviting the first batch of companies to apply for free mentorship and professional advice.

Hubs in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Stirling, Dundee, Aberdeen and Inverness will be followed by a south of Scotland facility in Dumfries at a later date in line with the National Strategy for Economic Transformation (NSET).

They were a key element in the recommendations by Mark Logan who was appointed the government’s first chief entrepreneur.

Meanwhile, a report two years on from the Scottish Tech Ecosystem Review (STER), which was carried out to expand Scotland’s tech sector, has found strong progress in a number of areas. The report details £60 million of Scottish Government investment since STER in 2020.

Business Minister Ivan McKee said: “As set out in NSET, we are committed to establishing Scotland as a leading destination in Europe for tech companies. The Techscaler network will play an important role in reaching this goal.”

Gillian Docherty, chair of CodeBase, the Edinburgh-based company delivering the Techscaler programme, said: “Codebase shares the government’s ambition to support business growth, and we are delighted to be the delivery partner for the Scottish Government’s Techscaler programme.

“With the right infrastructure and support systems in place founders can replicate successful growth methods to build startups, Techscaler provides that framework.

“I’m excited to see this network bring together people and partners across the Scottish tech ecosystem, developing the skills and attracting the investment required to start and scale a tech business.”

Apply for help from the Techscaler programme