Putting start-ups at heart of recovery

The Scottish Government review of the Scottish tech ecosystem highlights the huge potential for North east Scotland to play a crucial role in enabling country-wide participation in Scotland’s digital economy.

The Scottish Government has published a review of the Scottish tech ecosystem by Mark Logan with recommendations on how to develop a world-class tech sector.

In May 2020, Cabinet Secretary of Finance Kate Forbes asked Mark Logan, tech entrepreneur and former Skyscanner COO, to conduct a short-life review into how Scotland's tech sector can contribute to Scotland's economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic. The review’s recommendations are primarily concerned with stimulating and accelerating the maturity of Scotland’s “Technology Ecosystem”, with a focus on education, infrastructure and funding.

Sir Ian Wood KT GBE, Chair of Opportunity North East said:

“We believe this is a very good report, welcome the recommendations and agree with the findings which are aligned with ONE’s ambition to catalyse and grow a vibrant digital economy in the North East. The intention to increase the creation rate of profitable, scaled tech businesses outlined in the report is aligned with our own activity within ONE Tech Hub, which opened in June 2019, to create the best possible environment for success and become a beacon for digital within the region.

“Perhaps most encouraging is the recognition of the positive impact within the region of ONE Codebase, our successful partnership with Codebase UK, which provides founders with high-quality start-up education and mentoring to help them operate in a digital economy and support viable individual start-ups to reach scale.

“The report highlights the huge potential for our region to play a crucial role in enabling country-wide participation in Scotland’s digital economy and the recommendations, with additional support, will enable us to continue to do this at scale.”

The full report can be accessed here https://www.gov.scot/news/putting-start-ups-at-heart-of-recovery/