In 2022 Scottish EDGE awarded 82 early-stage, startup Scottish businesses with prize funding in excess of £3.1m and now Scottish EDGE is back for round 21 with more funding on offer for Scotland’s next great startup businesses.

The application window will stay open until 14th Feb. Winning businesses will receive a share of a £1.5m prize pot, along with access to a network of industry experts and support opportunities.

The Scottish EDGE suite awards now consist of the core Scottish EDGE, Social Enterprise EDGE (supported by Postcode Innovation Trust), and the Scottish Enterprise supported Young EDGE categories, as well as the specialist category awards: Net Zero EDGE (supported by Royal Bank of Scotland), Social Enterprise EDGE, Circular Economy EDGE (supported by Zero Waste Scotland), STV Growth EDGE (supported by STV), Industrial Biotechnology Innovation Centre EDGE (supported by IBioIC) and Creative EDGE.

Due to a reduction in funding support, the Wild Card EDGE category will not be running in the current round. However, pre-trading businesses can still apply for the Scottish EDGE or Young EDGE category where eligibility requirements are met.

To apply, businesses will need to submit an application and a three-minute video pitch via the online portal at scottishedge.com. A panel of assessors, which includes investors, entrepreneurs, and industry experts, will then review the submissions and select the semi-finalists.