Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review can help sector grow and deliver

The time is now when it comes to building on the progress made within Scotland’s technology sector, according to FinTech Scotland Chief Executive Stephen Ingledew.

It has been in the spotlight since the publication of the Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review, carried out by Mark Logan, academic and former COO of Skyscanner.

Commissioned by Finance Secretary Kate Forbes, the report sets out ways in which the country’s technology ecosystem, which Mr Logan describes as being at a “pre-tipping” point, can continue to grow.

Education and talent, infrastructure and funding were identified as key priority areas when considering how to accelerate development, as the report also examined current support given to these, and made recommendations, including:

the creation of a Tech-Scaler National Backbone – a Scotland wide network of Tech-Scaler centers to support early stage companies to grow
establishing industry partnerships with schools, in order to provide summer work experience and development opportunities outside of the classroom
developing Government supported initiatives that address local challenges

Reflecting on what comes next, Mr Ingledew, who has been at the forefront of promotion and growth of the FinTech sector in the country and beyond, said leveraging success within the start-up community is key. He commented:

The Tech Ecosystem Review is a crucial report highlighting the key steps to supporting innovative technology and data driven businesses to scale and grow in a fast-changing environment

The pragmatic action-orientated proposals look to Scotland’s credentials in developing entrepreneurial enterprises by leveraging creative people, world-class universities and global openness alongside an environment that thrives on collaboration and inclusion.

The report sets out clear enabling actions to support Scotland in building on the exciting start-up community and delivering enterprises that can scale better and faster, creating more jobs and contributing to the country’s economic growth.

FinTech Scotland’s positive experience of developing a FinTech cluster has demonstrated that, by mobilising the private sector, public agencies, government, third sector and investors, as well as universities and skills agencies, it is possible to accelerate innovation and create opportunities for collaboration.

The review highlights that this impact can be felt across the broader technology sector and at a bigger scale.

The review mentions that FinTech Scotland could be used as a template for network and cluster management and we are looking forward to sharing our know-how as we have already done across other sectors, such as travel, circular economy, e-commerce, data and cyber security for.

At Encompass, we have benefited from the support for and focus on the development of the technology sector in Scotland, and are proud to be part of what is a thriving community, with Wayne Johnson, CEO and co-founder, adding:

There is lots of fantastic, innovative work being done in the technology sector just now, and we have first-hand knowledge of just what a great environment Scotland is for RegTech and FinTech, especially.

We look forward to being part of its continued growth and success, and welcome the opportunity to continue to work with our valued partners and connections in the space.