Glasgow State of the City Economy Conference: First Minister's speech - 28 November 2025

It is a privilege to be with you here in the Old Fruitmarket – one of Glasgow’s most iconic venues, and a space that, captures something of the story of the city itself: from a dependence on heavy industry and commerce to reinvention and renewal.

A place where traders once sold goods from across the world and today a place where ideas are shared, and Scotland’s outward looking culture is celebrated.

And what better place to reflect on this city’s remarkable journey, as Glasgow marks 850 years of civic life.

This milestone not only offers a moment to reflect on how far this city has come, but also to look ahead to where it is going next.

Because Glasgow’s story has always been one of transformation.

From its roots as a medieval market town, to a global hub of shipbuilding and heavy industry, to the creative, cultural, and commercial powerhouse we know, we see and we experience today.

It is a city that has never stood still.

And that is particularly true under the leadership of Susan Aitken. Susan’s work, the work of her administration, to draw in new businesses, to build new homes, and to create new pathways out of poverty, is clearly producing results. And the impressive programme of delivery and ambition that Susan has explained to us this morning is a huge asset for the city.

One of the particular projects that Susan talked about is the collaboration involving the Scottish National Investment Bank at Cowlairs with the City Council. And what that of course represents is the potential for us to draw together all of the assets of Scotland to work in harmony here in the city of Glasgow, to aid and to fuel the transformation of the city and I warmly pledge commitment of the Scottish Government to do exactly that in the period to come.

I want to express formally to the city of Glasgow, my warmest thanks to the city for its willingness to work with us to enable the hosting of the commonwealth games next summer. This was done in extremis to make sure the commonwealth games could have a venue for next year but it is a mark of the strength of the city, its reputation for hosting events and its pragmatism for being able to host an event of this scale and of the significance, that the city council has been able to do exactly that in working with those responsible for the development of the commonwealth games.

my thanks to the city of Glasgow to work with us to host the commonwealth games next year.

So that is just one additional example of the enormous strength of Glasgow, it’s capacity to host, on Scotland’s behalf, such a major international event which will help to showcase and to fuel the reputation of Scotland oversees. So I express my thanks to Glasgow for its willingness to host the commonwealth games and look forward to those events.

A city of welcome, not only for the Commonwealth Games but also for an expanding tourism and events sector.

A city for investment, with Glasgow the best city in the UK outside London for foreign direct investment.

A city of connection, and I commend the City Council and their regional partners for the important and ambitious Clyde Metro project, which has the potential to be truly transformational. And which the Scottish Government through Transport Scotland will be active and vigorous participants.

We live in a time of great change, of almost unprecedented uncertainty. So much has happened since the financial crash, now almost two decades ago. Brexit, the Covid pandemic, the inflation spike that followed Russia’s assault on Ukraine. Strong headwinds for this city and for our country. But Glasgow has kept moving forward. Because the fundamentals of this city, and of this country, are strong.

A highly skilled population, a deeply ingrained culture of entrepreneurship and innovation, world-class universities and colleges, strong communities, access, if we make the right choices, to vast amounts of low-cost, renewable energy. Glasgow and Scotland are well placed to flourish in the years ahead.

It is because we are so blessed that I am all the more determined to deliver on my government’s central economic mission: to increase the wealth and wellbeing our citizens by building a more productive, more dynamic, and more regionally balanced economy  driven by innovation, investment, and inclusive growth.

And therefore capable of achieving the governments aims of eradicating child poverty, enabling our transition to net zero and strengthening our public services, particularly the National Health Service. Because the generation of that inclusive wealth, that support of the wellbeing of our citizens is at the heart of everything we aim to do as a government and as a country.  

And in this next chapter, just as in the last, Glasgow - and its city region - has the potential to lead Scotland, to be, once again, the beating heart of Scotland’s economic success, our economic renewal.

Because at the heart of this Government’s economic strategy is a simple belief: that innovation is the catalyst for growth.

And it is why we are investing in the conditions that will allow entrepreneurs and scaling firms to thrive in our country.

Let me start with one of the most important examples of that work – the Techscaler programme.

The Techscaler programme is a flagship example of our ambition to make Scotland one of Europe’s most dynamic entrepreneurial economies.

With £42 million of investment over five years, we are creating the conditions for Scottish founders to compete with and learn from the very best in the world.

And Glasgow is playing a central role in that mission.

The region is home to one of the largest concentrations of Techscaler members, with over 400 founders from more than 300 startups now engaged in the programme, many of whom are based in the Barclays campus – an outstanding example of corporates supporting the next generation of business. Together, those companies have raised almost £40 million in investment since joining, and they are growing in sectors where Glasgow is already strong – EdTech, MedTech, and Data & Analytics.

Techscaler is more than a funding stream. It is a platform – one that brings together co-working space, peer networks, mentorship, and access to world-class education, including through Reforge, one of Silicon Valley’s most prestigious scale-up providers.

It connects founders to experienced entrepreneurs who have built and exited successful companies.

And it fosters the kind of entrepreneurial community and culture that allows innovation to flourish, and talent to stay.

These are not abstract benefits. We are seeing the results.

Today Techscaler supports over 1,400 startups. Over a third of Techscaler founders are women, a figure well above industry norms. And three Scottish companies, including Glasgow’s own Simple Online Healthcare, have been named in Tech Nation’s “Future 50” – marking them out as companies with significant growth potential.

Thanks to the advantages of self-government, Scotland’s entrepreneurial economy is now growing much faster than the UK as a whole, with growth outpacing even some of Europe’s most admired systems.

Techscaler and its collaboration with Barclays and other key institutions is helping to unlock Glasgow’s potential and to position the city at the forefront of global innovation.

But this is just one part of a much wider strategy that is reshaping how we support innovation, scale-ups, and the next generation of high-growth firms.

Because if Scotland is to fulfil its entrepreneurial potential, we need  than brilliant ideas. We need the right conditions to scale them. And we need to ensure that everyone with ambition and talent can participate in that journey.

But as we celebrate the success of our innovators, we must also be honest about the wider challenges Glasgow faces.

That is why we commissioned the Pathways Review, led by our Chief Entrepreneur Ana Stewart – who you will hear from later this morning, and Mark Logan - to understand and address the barriers facing women in entrepreneurship.

Their conclusions were clear: start-ups founded by women receive just 2% of institutional investment, what they described, rightly, as a “denial of opportunity on an industrial scale”.

We are now acting on those recommendations, with a Programme for Government commitment to invest up to £6 million to support hands-on, practical efforts to widen participation, build networks, and unlock the next generation of founders.

This work is not only about fairness. It is also about growth.

Yes, we are seeing more new businesses launch than ever before. More founders are stepping forward. And more ideas are turning into impact.

But, as Ana Stewart has been arguing so compellingly, the challenge now is how we support them to stay in Scotland, to expand here, to export from here, and to create jobs at scale here.

To guide that next phase, we asked Shane Corstorphine, former CFO of Skyscanner, to lead an independent Scale-Up Panel, bringing together some of Scotland’s most experienced entrepreneurs and investors.

Their recommendations are practical and ambitious, focused on global talent, board capability, export growth, better use of the GlobalScot network, and reforming start-up finance.

These are challenges the Scottish Government is actively working through in partnership with Ana Stewart as Chief Entrepreneur, and in dialogue with the industry.

But it is also a moment to reflect more broadly, and to be honest about where we need to go further to realise our ambitions for our economy.

In a Scottish context that need and desire to go further can be summed up in one word – energy.

This week’s UK budget was a missed opportunity on energy costs. While paring back some of the increases in household bills was welcome, the reality is that families and businesses in Scotland are paying way more than they should for their energy. Scotland, as an energy exporter, as one of the biggest producers of low-cost renewables in Europe, should have significantly lower energy costs. And, with significantly lower energy costs, significantly greater economic benefits and opportunities.

This week I was in Ireland, and the contrast could not be clearer. There, Irish governments have been able to make choices that give Ireland a competitive edge – in their case using the lever of low corporation tax to deliver a remarkable economic transformation.

An effective budget for Scotland would have seen the lever of low-cost energy pulled, giving Scottish households a real reduction in their sky-high energy costs, and creating a competitive advantage for Scottish businesses enabling them to flourish and to grow. Circumstances, also, that would encourage the energy-intensive hi-tech industries of the future to flock to Scotland, creating a host of new opportunities, new jobs and new economic hope.

That should be the scale of our ambition here in Scotland.

Ambition is something we must always have for Scotland, just as I know ambition is something that all of the partners here today have for this city. While Glasgow has faced some very specific pressures, in particular in the wake of the pandemic – declining footfall, changing work patterns, pressures on the night-time economy and shifts in retail patterns – your response was to step up and, as a result, we are seeing the emergence of a more diverse and resilient city centre economy. Recovery from Covid is an ongoing process, but in so many ways – including for the city’s retail and hospitality sectors, we can see the evidence of real progress.

Like you, I am very conscious of the new realities we face as a nation. Many of the old assumptions no longer stand, so how do we build city economies that thrive – not just in our tech clusters I’ve talked about so far or investment zones, but in every street, every community, every household?

Because the truth is:

• Without inclusive growth, there is no sustainable growth.
• Without a sense of pride in community, a sense of pride in place, we cannot unlock potential.
• And without a deeper regional focus, we risk missing the very levers that drive real transformation.

Earlier this month, Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli published his independent report on Glasgow’s regional economy.

His recommendations strongly reinforce many of the priorities already shaping this Government’s approach: the need for stronger regional capacity; greater devolution of decision-making; better commercialisation from universities; and a sharper focus on innovation and exports.

It is also a reminder that cities like Glasgow, with global potential, must be at the forefront of Scotland’s economic transformation.

And that if we are to realise the ambition of becoming one of the world’s most enterprising small economies, then Glasgow’s success will be absolutely central to that journey.

So let us ask ourselves: what would it take for Glasgow to become Europe’s most agile and inclusive innovation capital?

What would it take for the next generation of Glaswegians to grow up not just with pride in the city’s past, but with confidence in its future?

That vision cannot and should not just be written down in strategies or plans. It needs to be lived, seen and felt in the everyday life of this magnificent city.

And that includes recognising the full economic power of culture.

Whether it is hosting major events like the 2026 Commonwealth Games or EURO 2028 – and hopefully, with the bid submitted today, as a location for the 2035 Women's World Cup, showcasing local talent through the Glasgow Film Festival or Celtic Connections, or serving as the stage for international productions; from “Spiderman” to “The Flash”, this is a city that understands the power of creativity to drive regeneration, attract investment, and bring people together.

We see it in iconic venues like the Barrowlands, the Old Fruitmarket, and the Emirates Arena, each of them not just spaces of performance, but engines of local pride and economic activity.

And we see it in the investments we have made. In refurbishing Kelvin Hall. In supporting the National Performing Companies.

This cultural infrastructure is not separate from our economic ambitions. It is fundamental to our economic ambitions as well.

Because thriving cities are places where creativity, commerce and community meet.      

And Glasgow continues to embody that potential, not only as a centre of business and innovation, but as a place that inspires, includes, and connects.

Glasgow’s potential is not hypothetical. It is real. And it is already being realised in its institutions, its entrepreneurs, and in the partnerships powering its renewal.

Through investment in Clyde Gateway, we are supporting the regeneration of Glasgow’s East End; tackling inequality, creating jobs, and improving outcomes for the communities that call this area home.

And the results are tangible: from EastWorks Dalmarnock to the Shawfield Innovation District, from business parks to community hubs, this is about more than physical infrastructure. It is about building confidence in place.

We see that again in the Govan-Partick Bridge, opened just last year. It provides an important, and much-welcomed, physical connection between the traditional seat of learning in the west end and the many exciting, new innovative industries emerging in the heart of post-industrial Govan. Enabling not only the easier flow of cyclists and pedestrians but I hope also, the easier flow of ideas too into the bargain!

These are not isolated projects. They are part of a bigger story.

So let us pause here and imagine what that future Glasgow could look like.

Imagine a city where the East End is known not for what it once was, but for what it has become: a hub of clean industry, creative talent, and cutting-edge research.

Where high streets are alive with independent shops, local enterprise, and cultural spaces that reflect the diversity of the people who live here.

Where crossing the Clyde means opportunity, not just in the city centre, but in every community that makes up this region.

Where the next generation grows up confident that they can build their best future right here.

That is the kind of city economy we must build and the kind of vision that must animate our planning, our partnerships, and our politics.

Because regeneration is not just about restoring the past. It is about designing the future.

And with the right investment, leadership, and collaboration, Glasgow can once again show the world what transformation looks like.

And it is precisely because of this long-term, community-focused but commercially minded regeneration that Glasgow is now a magnet for inward investment, spanning sectors from advanced manufacturing to digital tech, creative industries and green energy.

That is not just a vote of confidence in Glasgow’s infrastructure. It is a signal that international investors see this city as a place of opportunity, talent and ambition.

Two recent examples prove the point.

In March, Halon Entertainment announced the creation of a new studio here in Glasgow, delivering 250 high-quality jobs and cementing the city’s reputation as a global player in film, gaming, and immersive tech.

And in May, ZeroAvia confirmed that it would establish a hydrogen centre of excellence in Renfrewshire, driving forward the development of hydrogen-electric aero engines and placing this region at the heart of the clean aviation revolution.

And Glasgow’s fintech ecosystem is also thriving.

The city is now home to more than 70 fintech firms – spanning areas such as crypto, RegTech, payments, and embedded finance while increasingly attracting international venture capital.

A powerful example of this growth story is the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab, delivered by FinTech Scotland in partnership with the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde, which is cementing the city’s reputation as a global leader in responsible financial innovation.

This growing investment confirms Glasgow’s competitive advantages: tangibles like world-class universities and colleges, a skilled workforce, international connectivity but also those equally important intangibles – leadership, ambition, confidence and an abounding creative energy.

It reflects also something deeper: a new maturity in regional collaboration.

Because while we talk about Glasgow as a city, we know it does not succeed alone.

It is part of a wider city region – a connected, coordinated economic system where local authorities, industry, academia and the third sector come together to align ambition and delivery at scale.

And Glasgow City Region is showing how that regional model can work in Scotland.

Together, you have built a mature governance structure – a city region cabinet. This model of cooperation, with light touch but effective governance structures bringing together leaders of the region’s local authorities is, to my mind, a far better approach than the imposition of so-called Metro Mayors.

It is rooted in, and respectful of, our existing local government structures, and it works – helping deliver £1.3 billion of investment which has in turn leveraged £880 million of follow-on investment that sustains thousands of jobs, and has nurtured and encouraged dynamic new sectors of the economy all along the Clyde valley.

And it is precisely because of this success and the ambition shown by Glasgow and its partners, that the Scottish Government is now committed to going further.

We will introduce enabling legislation in the next Parliament to allow regional partnerships to seek legal status, unlock new powers, and design delivery models tailored to local priorities.

I want our regional partnerships like Glasgow City Region, to have the opportunity to expand their strategic capacities and role, with a package of additional devolved competencies available over time. On the table, powers such as skills, economic development and  planning.

Glasgow City Region is very much a pathfinder. A stronger Glasgow City Region should have the powers it needs to support progress on the Clyde Metro and other regional connectivity and to enable infrastructure investments that will accelerate inclusive economic growth and speed up the transition to net zero.

Because the more we empower our regions, the more we empower Scotland.

Glasgow’s leadership has shown what is possible. Now we must build on that momentum and extend it to every other part of the country.

And to that end, I can confirm today that the Scottish Government will provide capacity funding, with £400,000 available this year, to support the development of new regional structures and regional economic plans.

A more than a quarter century of devolution to Scotland, and as we consider once again the next steps forward for our nation, it is time also for greater devolution of power within Scotland. That includes empowering Scotland’s regions because working in partnership with national government, it is our regions that are best placed to drive inclusive economic growth in a way that is both local and strategic.

After 850 years of reinvention, this city has earned the right to aim high. And in the Old Fruitmarket, we know exactly what happens when ambition meets enterprise.

So let us imagine the Glasgow of tomorrow.

A Glasgow where every child, no matter their postcode, grows up with confidence in their future, because opportunity is not confined to a few streets or sectors, but harnessed across the whole of the city.

A Glasgow where our world-class universities are not just centres of learning, but engines of enterprise: birthing new ideas, new technologies, and new industries.

Where the next generation of founders is more diverse, more ambitious, and more supported than ever before.

Where innovation is not abstract, but visible in the businesses we support, the places we build, and the communities that we empower.

And where the city’s energy, its culture, its creativity, its compassion, is not only preserved, but projected on a global stage.

That is the Glasgow we are  all working towards.

And that is the journey this Government is proud to walk with you.

Looking around this room, I see the people who will help make that vision a reality.

But we will not get there by doing more of the same.

This moment demands focus. It demands collaboration. And it demands ambition equal to the challenges that we all face, and the potential we possess.

So let us build on what works. Let us scale what matters. And let us show, once again, that Glasgow does not wait for the future to happen.

Glasgow makes the future happen and the Scottish Government will be an enthusiastic partner with Glasgow on that journey.

Thank you very much.