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Think you know Scotland?

Think again. World-leading innovation, talented people, a supportive business environment and enviable quality of life make Scotland the perfect place to grow your business. Global companies such as JP Morgan, GSK and Amazon, as well as fast-growing startups, have chosen Scotland. Find out why you should too.

What Scotland can do for you

For a greener, sustainable return on investment, Scotland has all the right credentials to set up and expand your business, innovate and access new markets...

  • Funding & tax incentives

    Tax incentives, funding and financial support to set up and grow your business in Scotland. 

  • Diverse opportunities

    Take a look at Scotland's opportunities across our industry sectors that will give you the best return on your investment.

  • Talented people

    How to find the right talent, skills and training you need to grow your tech business.

  • Innovation

    Discover the innovative spirit which could set your company on the path to greatness in Scotland.

  • Transport and digital connectivity

    Why Scotland's innovative ecosystem is brilliantly connected for data, community building and collaboration.

  • Market-ready real estate

    Clear planning, reliable regulation, market-leading rates - find attractive commercial property investment opportunities.

Companies like yours are making big ideas a reality in Scotland

Find examples of Scottish companies doing smart things with data, digital and technology – developing intelligent, low carbon, sustainable solutions to help improve people’s lives and protect the planet. 

How we use data around the world is changing

Ecometrica is a pioneering example of an innovative Scottish space tech company helping to tackle global challenges, like deforestation and the climate crisis.  

Ecometrica is deploying its satellite data-gathering technology to help African Governments and the world’s cocoa companies in their battle to end deforestation caused by their supply chains.

Read Ecometrica’s story 

Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) is an indoor agritech and commercial lighting business based in Scotland.

IGS helps farmers have total remote control of any indoor climate allowing them to optimise the yield, quality and consistency of their crops. This creates a farm free from pesticides and diesel-powered vehicles. A farm where water is constantly recycled and crops aren’t washed in chlorinated water, substantially increasing their shelf-life.  

IGS’s IOT-enabled systems power, handle and ventilate indoor farming, using artificial intelligence and machine learning without the need for unreliable computers. 

Read more about Intelligent Growth Solutions 

Cream of the crop

SoilEssentials is a Scottish company run by farmers for farmers harnessing technology, data and intelligence to help reduce the use of pesticides, reduce CO2 emissions and improve efficiency and yields. They are doing this both within Scotland and internationally (Europe and New Zealand).  

Read SoilEssentials' story 

Global Surface Intelligence is an Edinburgh-based company that harnesses earth observation data from space to provide crop and climate intelligence and solutions to help decision-makers manage natural resources and fight climate change. 

More about Global Surface Intelligence opens in a new window  

Low carbon heat

Scottish manufacturer, Star Renewable Energy provides ground-breaking sustainable heating solutions for district heating systems, large industrial processes and public sector buildings.

Read about the company's heat pump technology 

Turning the tide 

Orbital Marine Power is "thinking bigger" in Scotland with its new tidal power device - building the world’s most powerful, most technologically advanced tidal turbine. It's on a mission to provide millions of people across the world with a sustainable, reliable, predictable source of clean energy. 

In this video, Andrew Scott, CEO and director of Orbital Marine Power shares his company's solution for low cost tidal stream energy.

Healthcare is undergoing a paradigm shift from reactive, in-hospital treatment, to proactive, community-based care 

Scottish health tech company, Current Health is building a future where healthcare is delivered to a patient before they even become sick through its AI-powered remote patient monitoring platform. 

Working with NHS Trust, Current Health has enabled a new form of clinical-decision support, allowing Dartford’s Hospital at Home team to prioritise therapy visits to patients who need clinical attention first.

As the capture of vital sign observations is completely automated by Current Health, unnecessary therapy visits have been minimised. This means the team can increase the number of patients they manage, further reducing hospitalisation and re-admissions and helping more patients get home and stay home. 

The proliferation of technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI) and open banking is revolutionising the finance industry. Scotland's experience in the financial services sector goes back centuries. We’re now building on that expertise and leading the way in fintech solutions. 

Scottish fintechs to watch 

Looking for something unique?

Our food and drink suppliers are experts at creating unique products for global markets.

Scottish scientists at Arbikie Distillery claim to have developed the world's first "climate positive" gin, using garden peas. Arbikie Distillery in Angus said the production of its Nàdar Gin removes more carbon dioxide than it creates. 

More about Arbikie Distillery opens in a new window  

The Orkney Distillery is undertaking a feasibility study through the HySpirits project, led by the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC), into the development of technology to enable them to use hydrogen as a fuel to decarbonise the distilling process in making gin. 

Read more about the HySpirits project  opens in a new window  

How Scotland is bringing innovation to the food and drink industry

If you’re looking for something specific that you can’t find on the market yet, Scotland has the suppliers, expertise and innovative thinking to help.

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Meeting the scale-up challenge 

Access to talent, skills training and digital tech helped London-based contact services firm VeriCall choose Scotland as a location to scale up its operations.

Read VeriCall's success story 

Raising the bar for service delivery from Scotland

Since opening its Global Centre of Excellence in August 2013, progressive global law firm Ashurst has found that Glasgow is the perfect location to expand its full range of business-critical functions.

The firm is benefiting from the city’s high calibre graduates to help transform how it delivers its legal services to its clients across the globe.

How businesses in Scotland are bringing space data down to Earth

Millions of Scots use space data every day to commute, communicate and keep an eye on the rapidly changing weather forecasts. But how many people know that Scotland is a world leader in small satellite manufacturing and space data analysis? Daniel Smith founder of AstroAgency gives you a guided tour of Scotland's thriving space sector and its benefits to businesses like yours.

Read Daniel's insight 

Gore's golden era in Scotland...and space

As the company marks its 50 years in Scotland, Jeff Fyfe, Global Space Lead at W.L. Gore & Associates shares its adventures in space, his passion for Scotland's potential in the industry and curiosity for exploring innovative tech solutions to improve people's lives.

Read W.L. Gore's story 

Read why Scotland is a fantastic place to base your space company 

AI solutions for a better world

Edinburgh startup, Space Intelligence is making huge steps in tackling the climate crisis by applying advanced satellite analysis to land management.

Read Space Intelligence's story 

Space tech innovation in Scotland

More than 130 companies are shaping Scotland's global reputation as world-leader in space technology. Here's a sample of those startups to watch.

Scottish space tech companies to watch 

Celtic Renewables is a company using whisky biproducts to create sustainable biofuels that can one day replace fossil fuels. 

More about Celtic Renewables opens in a new window  

The world’s first long-range zero-emission hydrogen flight test is to take place in Scotland

The HyFlyer project is a collaboration between Californian company, ZeroAvia and the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney. The EMEC, which produces green hydrogen from renewable energy, will supply the hydrogen required for flight tests and develop a mobile refuelling platform compatible with the aircraft. 

The Scottish Government plans to decarbonise scheduled flights within Scotland by 2040. 

Hydrogen energy projects in Scotland shaping a greener future 

More about the HyFlyer project  opens in a new window  

Aberdeen-based green tech start-up, Trojan Energy, has secured a £4.1 million round of seed funding to support the roll-out of its on-street flat and flush electric vehicle (EV) charging points.

The new product aims to help solve the issue of charging for vehicle owners without access to off-street parking, which is currently a major barrier for electric vehicle uptake, particularly in urban areas. 

Trojan Energy estimates that 10 million people park their vehicles on the street in the UK and 100 million in Europe. Switching to EV could potentially reduce European CO2 emissions by over 120 million tonnes per year. 

More about Trojan Energy  opens in a new window  

Read more about Scotland's low carbon transport 

Get in touch with our team

With a network of 30 international offices, you'll find a local Scottish Development International contact who can help you do business with Scotland. Whether that’s supporting your investment in Scotland, or helping you partner with Scottish companies.

Find your local office or contact our UK call centre on +44 300 013 2734

This call centre is open between 9am and 5pm GMT.

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