The partnership between ScotlandIS and Techscaler strengthens Scotland's digital economy by connecting ambitious tech founders with the industry networks, advocacy, and resources they need to scale globally. ScotlandIS, Scotland's tech sector trade body, plays a crucial role in shaping the country's digital landscape by lobbying for members and managing cyber, data, IT and ecosystem clusters to promote collaboration across industry. Their mission is to shape, change, and drive Scotland's digital economy, acting as a catalyst for growth and innovation.
Why This Partnership Matters
Building a thriving tech company requires more than just great ideas and execution—it requires access to the right networks, knowledge, and industry support at precisely the right moment. This collaboration creates a vital bridge between Techscaler's founder-centred programmes and ScotlandIS's sector-wide advocacy, skills initiatives and industry networks.
The partnership embodies a shared belief: that Scotland's tech ecosystem becomes stronger when organisations work together rather than in silos. Together, we're not just supporting individual startups; we're creating clearer pathways from first customer to global scale, ensuring that founders can spend less time navigating the system and more time creating value, jobs and innovation.
Shared Goals, Real Impact
Key focus areas include:
Connected Ecosystem Support: Creating seamless pathways for founders through coordinated signposting, mutual referrals and participation at each other's events, ensuring startups access the right support at the right time.
Industry Intelligence & Research: Collaborating on sector research and insights, including sponsorship of the ScotlandIS Technology Industry Survey, to uncover trends and identify barriers to growth so support can be targeted where it's needed most.
Recognition & Visibility: Celebrating the achievements of Scotland's tech startups through initiatives like the Digital Tech Awards, raising the profile of emerging companies and their founders.
Skills & Knowledge Development: Providing early-stage Techscaler members with one year's free ScotlandIS membership, granting access to the Future Ready knowledge hub—featuring business modules, templates, and resources specifically designed for tech companies.
The partnership, initiated in June 2023, aims to give companies a clearer route from early traction to scale, ensuring that great ideas aren't limited by postcode or network.
What That Looks Like in Practice
The partnership delivers tangible value through integrated initiatives that address the specific needs of Scotland's tech startups.
Digital Tech Awards Sponsorship: Techscaler supported ScotlandIS's 15th annual Digital Tech Awards and their 25-year anniversary by sponsoring the Startup Business of the Year award in March 2025. This helped raise the profile of innovative tech startups, including Techscaler member Unbaggaged, who reached the finals.
National Innovation Week 2025: Supporting the Scottish Government's National Innovation Week (delivered in collaboration with ScotlandIS and others), Techscaler organised three online events in partnership with Ventures Lab, Scottish Women in Tech and NHS Innovation Hubs, engaging over 70 attendees.
Industry Survey Sponsorship: Techscaler sponsored the ScotlandIS Technology Industry Survey to support annual research into the tech sector's challenges and opportunities, ensuring the ecosystem can target support where it's needed most. As Yasmin Sulaiman, SVP Ecosystems at CodeBase noted: "ScotlandIS's survey has been a consistently strong barometer of the state of the sector, and we're excited to work with the team to uncover trends and identify barriers to growth."
Event Access & Networking: ScotlandIS provided free tickets for Techscaler members to attend ScotSoft, Scotland's flagship digital technologies conference. Techscaler founders reported positive experiences and made meaningful connections, with stimulating discussions on topics including gamification and other innovations.
Future Ready Programme Access: ScotlandIS offers one year's free membership to early-stage Techscaler members, providing access to their Future Ready knowledge hub with modules covering financial tools, recruitment procedures, tender applications, cybersecurity, health and safety policies, and more. Come along to the upcoming webinar to find out more.
Signs of Success
The partnership has already demonstrated strong value for Scotland's tech ecosystem through successful founder outcomes and deepened collaboration across the sector.
Recent ScotlandIS referrals to Techscaler have been selected for prestigious international programmes. Kevin Gordon, Co-Founder of Virtual Reality Empathy Platform, who participated in a joint Techscaler-ScotlandIS workshop in Dundee, is now a Techscaler member selected for the International Programme to Singapore. Chelsea Jarvie from Neon Circle (Glasgow), another ScotlandIS member, has been selected for Techscaler's International Programme to San Francisco.
Ecosystem partnerships continue to yield success stories like Zudu, a ScotlandIS member and CivTech Challenge winner, then became a Techscaler member and CodeBase tenant. The company has gone from strength to strength, doubling their headcount and targeting £10m sales as AI demand surges.
The ScotlandIS Technology Industry Survey, supported by Techscaler's sponsorship, highlighted key trends affecting Scotland's tech sector. Stephen Coleman, co-founder and chief executive of CodeBase, noted: "The global technology landscape is evolving at an increasingly rapid pace, with advances in AI and a shifting investment landscape creating both challenges and opportunities. As this report shows, these macro movements are being felt in Scotland."
Looking ahead, we're excited to continue strengthening referral pathways, developing collaborative events, and ensuring that Scotland's tech founders have access to both commercial scaling expertise and industry-wide networks that accelerate their growth.
ScotlandIS's Take
We asked ScotlandIS to provide their perspective on our partnership.
Why did ScotlandIS choose to work with Techscaler?
At ScotlandIS, our mission is to help Scotland's digital and tech economy start, scale and succeed. We chose to partner with Techscaler because it provides a founder-centred pathway, from first idea to investable, scalable venture that complements our national role as the industry body. Techscaler's blend of world-class mentors, practical programmes and community hubs creates the conditions where ambitious founders can build faster, learn from peers, and access the right support at the right time. Together, we can reach more people in more places, especially outside the central belt, and ensure that great ideas aren't limited by postcode or network.
How does this collaboration fit into your broader goals?
Our strategy focuses on three things: growing the pipeline of globally competitive tech companies, strengthening talent and leadership, and connecting Scotland's ecosystem to international markets. The collaboration with Techscaler advances all three. Their founder education and community infrastructure plugs directly into our sector clusters (digital/data/AI, cyber, fintech, climate tech), our skills and inclusion work, and our export missions. Practically, it means a shared front door for founders, aligned signposting across programmes, and a clearer bridge from early traction to scale so companies can spend less time navigating the system and more time creating value, jobs and innovation.
Final Say
"Techscaler is helping to turn Scotland's founder ambition into repeatable execution. By pairing their hands-on support with our national industry networks, we're giving companies a clearer route from first customer to global scale." - Karen Meechan, CEO, ScotlandIS
"What we value most is the 'founders first' mindset. Techscaler meets people where they are—whether they're pre-product or preparing to raise—and that complements our role in opening markets, building communities, and driving inclusion." - Nicola Taylor, COO, ScotlandIS
Andy Williams from Fyne Labs, a Techscaler member, became Chair of the ScotlandIS Board last year, further cementing the collaborative relationship between both organisations.
Come along to meet the ScotlandIS team and hear what support you can tap into as an early-stage Techscaler member, free for the first year! Join the webinar on 26th November.
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