Applications to a business competition funding scheme have increased by 24%, with a record 305 applications for the 17th round in May.
The increase in applications for Scottish EDGE suggests an high level of activity on Scotland’s start-up scene, with female co-founders representing 57% of the applications for the current round.
The social enterprise scheme is supported by the Royal Bank of Scotland, the Hunter Foundation, the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise.
It was first launched in 2013 and has since awarded more than £16m in grants and loans, supporting more than 420 businesses.
Sir Tom Hunter has also funded independent analysis into Scottish EDGE’s past winners.
The research was carried out by Ekos, finding that the Edge-supported businesses helped generate more than 850 jobs and a gross value added (GVA) of £67.9m.
The funding competition also generated a return for the public sector of £7.30 to £8.50 in net additional GVA for every £1 of public sector investment.
It also suggested that a start-up was more likely to survive the first year if it was an EDGE winning business, with 100% still trading after one year.
The survival rate for start-ups funding from the scheme was 85% after three years, only dropping to 77% after five years.
In eight years of operating, the scheme had just a 6.2% default rate.
Companies which have won grants and loans in previous rounds include Ooni Pizza Ovens, patient monitoring specialist Current Health and compliance software developer Amiqus.
Evelyn McDonald, chief executive at Scottish EDGE, said: “Job losses and lack of employment have encouraged many to make the entrepreneurial leap, including a disproportionate amount of women, and what we’re also seeing across the applications are companies positioned to address many of the issues that have been thrown up by the pandemic.”
Sir Tom Hunter added: “Early stage, high growth businesses will play a vital role in rebuilding our economy and driving employment opportunities.
"Scotland’s economic recovery will be entrepreneur led and SMEs are fundamental to our chances of succeeding.”
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