News
Career support is now closer to Scotland’s communities
Career journeys are rarely straightforward, and people do not all need the same thing at the same time.
That is why Skills Development Scotland’s (SDS) all-age careers service meets people where they are, helping them build the confidence and skills to make informed decisions throughout life.
Source: The Herald
Funding gap widens as investors become more selective
Scotland's early-stage investment market remains active, but raising capital is becoming more difficult for ambitious growth companies.
While investors continue to back innovative businesses with strong growth prospects, fundraising rounds are taking longer to complete, investors are carrying out more detailed due diligence and capital is becoming increasingly selective.
Source: The Scotsman
Scotland attracts record 76 new funders to the market in 2025
A record 76 funders backed Scottish companies with risk capital for the first time in 2025, up from 73 in 2024, according to the latest Annual Newcomers Report from Young Company Finance (YCF), which tracks the financing of early-stage companies in Scotland.
Midlothian Science Zone-based Rhizocore Technologies is one of those companies, attracting five investors to the Scottish risk capital market for the first time including The First Thirty, The Grosvenor Estate and Sand River, investing alongside Scottish Enterprise and the University of Edinburgh’s Old College Capital.
Source: Scottish Financial News
Scottish students secure international Saltire Scholars roles
A record number of Scottish university students have secured internships through the Saltire Scholars programme this summer.
A total of 208 undergraduates have secured placements through the initiative, run by Entrepreneurial Scotland, making it the programme's largest intake to date.
Source: The Herald
Scotland’s scaleups being held back by £25m glass ceiling
Scotland risks losing high-growth companies overseas unless it addresses a widening gap in later-stage capital and skills, industry leaders have warned.
At an industrial strategy roundtable in Glasgow, investors, manufacturers and public agencies agreed that while Scotland performs strongly in spinouts and early-stage funding, the transition to scale remains the system’s weakest link.
Source: The Scotsman
Biotech spin-out secures £1.58m as bio kits sell in US
The University of Edinburgh spin-out BIOCAPTIVA has raised £1.58 million in a new funding round and launched its first product in the US.
BIOCAPTIVA’s a novel magnetic bead technology is designed to solve one of liquid biopsy’s biggest bottlenecks - preparing blood samples for cancer research and diagnostics. By improving how cell-free DNA is captured from blood, the technology aims to make liquid biopsy testing more reliable, scalable, and accessible.
Source: The Business
Female powerhouses are fuelling Scottish economy
If you want to see today where the Scottish economy is firing on all cylinders, look at your women business champions.
The number of visible, scaling female founded or co-founded businesses has surged by a staggering 81 per cent over the past year. These 139 powerhouses – including the likes of pizza disrupter Ooni, creative arts giant LS Productions, and life sciences firm Amici – now generate £1.5 billion in revenue and employ more than16,000 people.
Source: The Scotsman
SCC and FICCI sign MoU to strengthen Scotland–India business links
The Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at deepening economic cooperation, strengthening trade and investment relations, and enhancing business‑to‑business partnerships between Scotland and India.
Source: Scottish Financial 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 equity investment tops £1bn as investors focus on fewer but larger deals
Equity investment into Scottish companies rose by almost a third to over £1 billion last year, even though the number of deals increased by less than 1%, a new report has shown.
The figures suggest investors are becoming more selective and refining their focus with fewer but larger deals and more capital deployed overall, according to Mercia Ventures.
Source: Scottish Financial News