Entrepreneurship
We want to promote a culture of entrepreneurship that will help to grow and diversify Scotland's business base, while also helping people of all backgrounds to fulfil their potential.
Through Scotland CAN DO we continue to work with public, private and third sector partners towards the goal of becoming a world-leading entrepreneurial and innovative nation. A place where growth and innovation go hand in hand with wider benefits to all of society.
This includes supporting and promoting a wide range of activities designed to promote a 'CAN DO' culture at all levels of society.
Business
We have encouraged and helped businesses to start up, grow and innovate by:
- investing annually in the Scottish EDGE Fund competition for Scotland's most talented and ambitious early-stage entrepreneurs
- working with Co-operative Development Scotland to promote alternative and progressive business models, including through our involvement with Scotland for Employee Ownership
- investing in the continuation of Unlocking Ambition: a flagship development fund designed to support young companies that are ready to take steps towards transformational growth
- supporting the growth of an effective and integrated Scale movement for businesses on the path to exceptional growth – this includes the CAN DO Scale and Scale Up Scotland programmes
- continuing our involvement, and investment, in VentureFest Scotland: an exciting festival of discovery and innovation focussed on the businesses of tomorrow
Youth and education
We are developing a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship among Scotland's young people and students by:
- continuing to support the Bridge 2 Business initiative, which offers college students first hand opportunities to engage with appropriate entrepreneurial role models
- encouraging teachers to introduce enterprise and entrepreneurial thinking to students through engagement with Scotland's Enterprising Schools
- supporting the youth enterprise activities of Prince's Trust Scotland
- working with the Scottish Institute for Enterprise (SIE), Converge Challenge and Young Enterprise Scotland to promote collaboration across tertiary education and provide Scotland's college and university students with a more unified and impactful offering
Through our CAN DO approach we have also strengthened the social and economic impact of entrepreneurship by:
- nurturing the enterprising potential of Scotland's town centres and city neighbourhoods through our continuing support for CAN DO Places
- promoting a more innovative and entrepreneurial mindset in third sector and public sector organisations through our support for The Lens
- tackling the gender gap across start-ups and growth companies through the Women in Enterprise Framework and Action Plan (August 2017) and the related Ministerial-led Action Group
- supporting initiatives such as Investing Women's AccelerateHER programme and the Women's Enterprise Scotland Ambassadors role-model project