Scotland’s leading entrepreneurs pledge £1m boost to Scottish EDGE
In a Scottish EDGE first, some of Scotland’s leading entrepreneurs have committed an additional £1 million of grants and loans to Scottish EDGE, the UK’s biggest funding competition for potential high growth businesses. Entrepreneurs supporting the initiative include Sir Tom Hunter, Kevin Dorren, Sir Brian Souter, James Watt, Lord and Lady Haughey, Chris van der Kuyl and Paddy Burns. The additional funding will be awarded in the next four rounds of Scottish EDGE.
Scottish EDGE supports Scotland’s most innovative, high-growth potential early-stage businesses with up to £150,000 in cash, which are made up of a combination of grants and loans. It also provides a business support package that includes mentoring, support and signposting to alternative finance. It is awarded as a grant and a loan which is paid back into the fund to help fellow entrepreneurs on their pathway to success.
The fundraising comes after a report published by Oxford Economics, commissioned by The Hunter Foundation indicated that radical and ambitious policy changes are required if Scotland’s economic performance is to be transformed and significantly boosted within the next 15 years. The aim of the report was to address issues such as low productivity, poor business birth rate and lack of success with scale-ups within Scotland that help to explain why Scotland’s GDP per head is a mere 44% of Singapore’s level, 48% of Ireland’s, 68% of Norway’s and 75% of Denmark’s.
As the report highlighted the need for the private and public sector to step up to support Scotland’s economic growth, the £1 million committed to Scottish EDGE was achieved in just two days. The entrepreneurs are committing between £100k-£500k each to the fundraising initiative which will primarily be in the form of loans. The pledges are as follows:
Combination of grants and loans:
Sir Tom Hunter £300K grants £200K loans
Loans:
Kevin Dorren £100K
Sir Brian Souter £100K
James Watt £100K
Lord and Lady Haughey £100K
Chris van der Kuyl and Paddy Burns, Chroma Ventures £100K
Sir Tom Hunter, Founder, The Hunter Foundation, said:
“This is a classic case of high-quality demand outstripping funding supply – we all need to step up, as entrepreneurs and Government. As we look for ways to help solve the problem of poor economic growth in Scotland, it’s clear that early-stage, high-growth businesses will play a key role in driving this change – both in rebuilding the economy and providing employment opportunities. Scottish EDGE offers pivotal help in giving these businesses an opportunity to scale up and fulfil their potential.
“Start-ups are good, but scale-ups are great - they move the economic dial. Scottish EDGE’s track record speaks for itself and scaling it up is, in common parlance, a no-brainer!”
James Watt, BrewDog CEO and Co-Founder said:
“Scottish EDGE is imperative to the development and growth of our future leaders and underpins the fundamentals of innovation, the foundation of which is continuous learning.
“Entrepreneurs take risks, are wildly ambitious and have unwavering faith in the impossible. By bolstering these programs, Scottish EDGE is able to provide strategic allocation of resources, while creating value for the not yet imagined.”
Kevin Dorren, CEO of Edinburgh-based ready meal firm Parsley Box, said:
“Supporting high growth start-ups is essential to economic dynamism by spurring innovation and encouraging competition. Ambitious early-stage businesses can, with the right support, have a direct impact on the cities that they make their homes and scale up to create ripples of growth for the local economy.”
Sir Brian Souter said
“Small companies are the growth engine of the Scottish economy, and in the digital age, there has never been a better time for entrepreneurs to capitalise on technology to turn their ideas into break through innovation.“
Lord Haughey said
“I am absolutely delighted to participate in helping to fund early-stage businesses through Scottish EDGE, the success of this initiative has produced some fantastic businesses, which in turn have created thousands of jobs.”
Chris van der Kuyl of Chroma Ventures said
“Scottish EDGE is a global success story created in Scotland and we are delighted to stand with fellow Scottish Entrepreneurs in investing in the next chapter. The companies that win future funding from Scottish EDGE will go on to be part of the backbone of our economy and will be a big part of Scotland continuing to punch above its weight on the world stage.”
David Shearer, Chairman, Scottish EDGE, said:
“This is an unequivocal testament to the impact Scottish EDGE continues to generate in supporting the next wave of high growth potential businesses. It shows Scotland’s entrepreneurs are willing to commit where they know the outcomes impact positively on Scotland’s future. This commitment is very welcome and I hope stimulates further constructive debate within Scottish Government as to where and how it focuses its financial resources to maximise impacts for Scotland’s economic growth.”