The big switch-on – now is the time to launch a tech business in Scotland
The right environment to grow the Scottish digital economy is falling into place, writes Polly Purvis
Scotland is already home to more than 2,000 digital technologies companies, many of them well established and growing steadily, selling into markets in Scotland, the rest of the UK, and globally.
It is essential we have the right environment to increase that figure further, nurturing the next generation of businesses to introduce their ideas and innovations, to contribute to the nation’s economy in the years ahead while also delivering on the global stage.
It’s great to see that Scotland is now closing the gap on the leading technology nations and delivering the facilities our innovative businesses require, within an increasingly sophisticated start-up ecosystem.
From new business support and advice services, experienced mentors and investors, a highly talented workforce and access to financial capital, the infrastructure is now in place to ensure Scotland can capitalise on the innovation we have been rightly famous for.
The next challenge is how to scaleup – growing rapidly from start-up to established business. So these start-up programmes are now being augmented with tailored highgrowth programmes to help technology businesses accelerate through the various growth stages.
The well-publicised international successes of Skyscanner and Intelligent Point of Sale, have lit the way for a number of businesses, such as Glasgow’s Smarter Grid Solutions, whose software manages distributed power generation systems, and Simul8 with their world class simulation software.
There are still areas for improvement – more venture capitalists with Scottish offices would be great but London, one of the world’s biggest investment markets, is only an hour away; there is a shortage of talented industry leaders with successful track records in international marketing and sales.
We should promote Scotland as a base for internationally ambitious technology businesses and seek to attract back many of the Scots in the worldwide diaspora who have successfully built companies of scale.
But, for the most part, we increasingly have the right pieces in place for those with the germ of an idea to turn it into a business opportunity. Polly Purvis is CEO of digital technology trade body Scotlandis