Shearer, who up until last week was co-chairman of Martin Currie (Holdings) Ltd until its successful sale, chairs Aberdeen New Dawn Investment Trust plc and is on the board of STV Group plc commented;
“This is a great opportunity to give something back to the entrepreneurial community in Scotland which I’m delighted to do. Through our Board we will build more, better, faster and sustainable businesses in Scotland in an inclusive way, joining all the entrepreneurial support dots up.
“I’d say to any potential high growth business in Scotland starting out to take a look at scottishedge.com but not just the funds available there; the real rocket fuel for your business will be in the value add we, and our partners, will deliver with and for you.”
Sir Tom Hunter, who is co-investing in scottishedge.com and is on the board noted;
“David is an outstanding chairman with a pedigree any Plc would grab given half the chance – we are truly delighted to have him on board as our chair. The value he will bring through his commitment and energy and his own network, particularly in the City, will be invaluable as we build out scottishedge.com.“
scottishedge.com is a £5.55m fund established to support early stage businesses with a 50/50 loan and prize combination funded by Royal Bank of Scotland plc (RBS), The Hunter Foundation and the Scottish Government.
Today the fund also announced it was extending funding and companies could now apply for up to £ 100000 “we noted particularly for technology companies that our £50k limit may have been prohibiting applications from that sector” noted a spokesman.
In addition all winners of scottishedge.com will enjoy one year’s free membership to Entrepreneurial Scotland to support their businesses with knowledge, networks and advice. (see entrepreneurialscotland.com)
scottishedge.com will shortly announce a global entity supporting the fund as a sponsor partner and making a minimum $ 150 000 commitment to support the thirty finalists for this round of scottishedge.com. Details of the support will shortly be detailed on scottishedge.com.
Given the new funding guideline and support, applications for scottishedge.com have been extended until the end of this week and will close on Friday 10th of October at midnight. Any business which has already applied can reapply against the new criteria should they so wish.
Euan Cameron of Cohesion Medical Ltd, a software solutions business who won £46,000 of funding at scottishedge.com commented;
“scottishedge.com helps develop your confidence, sharpens your thinking and makes your think about how you present your business to others. Winning scottishedge.com has given my business real credibility with potential clients and suppliers and has opened the door to so many other market opportunities.”
David Shearer concluded by stating;
“We are in advanced discussions with a number of corporates keen to partner with scottishedge.com and hope to make further significant announcements in the near term. All this support, all this effort is for one reason and one reason only – to play our part in helping build a more vibrant, sustainable and successful entrepreneurial Scotland.”
Any business applying for scottishedge.com whether successful or not will be offered a range of support and services from scottishedge.com partners.
The full board includes:
- Gordon Merrylees, Regional Managing Director at RBS,
- Chris van der Kuyl, Chairman, 4J Studios Ltd and chairman of Entrepreneurial Scotland
- Sandy Kennedy, Saltire Foundation
- Eleanor Mitchell, PhD, Senior Director, Commercialisation, Scottish Enterprise, Edinburgh,
- Roddy MacDonald, Head of the Innovation, Investment and Industries Division in the Scottish Government Business Directorate
- James Muldoon, Entrepreneurship in the Scottish Government
- Allan Watt The Prince’s Trust Scotland Director – Scotland
- Donna Chisholm, Head of Business Innovation and Growth Sectors at Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE),
- Sir Tom Hunter, chairman West Coast Capital and The Hunter Foundation
- Ewan Hunter, CEO The Hunter Foundation
- Hugh Lightbody, Chief Officer Business Gateway National Unit
