Early stage businesses emerging from Scotland’s academic base will share the largest-ever annual package of support totalling more than £400,000.

The hike in cash available through Converge, the Academic enterprise programme, marks a shift to supporting a broader spectrum of university innovation for academic entrepreneurs across all sectors.

The record-breaking prize pot includes £305,000 in equity-free cash awards and over £100,000 of in-kind business support.

This year’s programme features an expanded range of opportunities, with prize offerings nearly doubling from 12 in 2024 to 21 for 2025 following the appointment of Adam Kosterka as executive director in December.

This expansion follows a new strategic partnership with international enterprise development organisation Challenges Group, which joins Converge as Strategic Partner for Impact in a three-year collaboration. The partnership aims to grow Scotland’s pipeline of early-stage businesses tackling social and environmental challenges. There is new funding from The Data Lab.

Mr Kosterka said: “This significant expansion in both funding and partnerships marks a transformative moment for academic entrepreneurship in Scotland.

“Through collaborations with organisations like Challenges Group and The Data Lab, we’re creating unprecedented opportunities across our university sector.

“By bringing together expertise in social impact, data science, creative industries and more, we’re building a comprehensive support system for academic founders. This enables us to empower even more researchers, creators, and inventors to develop sustainable, impactful businesses that can compete on a global stage.”

Deputy First Minister, Kate Forbes, said: “I value the role Converge plays in supporting the development of new and innovative businesses which is central to growing the economy. In the Scottish Budget, we’ve allocated £15 million to an expanded enterprise package, driving our mission to make Scotland a leading start-up nation.”

Converge has trained more than 800 academic entrepreneurs and supported the creation of over 425 companies since 2011.