The Scottish Government has made hundreds of thousands of pounds available for projects that encourage young people to choose entrepreneurship as a career.
Up to £885,000 is being made available to inspire the next generation of business owners as part of the Entrepreneurial Education Pathways Fund.
The fund will offer public and private sector organisations grants of up to £250,000 to deliver new and innovative courses and projects to young Scots under the age of 18, encouraging them to take up business ownership as a career path.
Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Economy Kate Forbes said: “Entrepreneurship is key to a productive and growing economy. Tapping into a more diverse talent pool to drive the creation and growth of new businesses is an ethical and economic imperative.
“Scotland has the potential to be one of Europe’s fastest-growing start-up economies: an economy that is strong, successful, and dynamic.
“The Scottish Government will continue to play its part to make this a reality, which starts with establishing a culture that encourages, promotes, and celebrates entrepreneurial learning from an early age.
“We want every young person to have the opportunity to experience entrepreneurial learning and this funding will help offer the next generation of business founders new and exciting ways to take the first crucial steps on their entrepreneurial journey.”
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The Fund is part of the Scottish Government's work to establish a ‘world-class’ entrepreneurial nation and deliver on the recommendations made by Ana Stewart and Mark Logan’s independent Pathways review.
The review highlighted the importance of education to extend participation in entrepreneurship to people from all backgrounds.
The Scottish Government described the findings of the report as ‘stark’ after it revealed that only one in five of Scotland’s businesses are led by women, and start-ups founded by women receive only 2% of overall investment capital.
Now, the new funding is looking to attract more young people to entrepreneurship and has been described as ‘essential’ in making Scotland a world leader in business ownership.
Chief Entrepreneur Mark Logan said: “This is an essential investment in the future of our country. It is our children and young people who will create the jobs and opportunities in tomorrow’s economy.
“The more we can capture their interest in entrepreneurship now, the stronger that economy will be.”
The new fund is open for applications until 9 September this year.
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