A £17.5 million funding package will be delivered this year to help establish Scotland as one of Europe’s leading start-up economies.

The Scottish Government has set out a range of actions and investments this year to support entrepreneurs and start-up businesses worth nearly £1 billion to the Scottish economy.

The plan includes developing pre-start centres and pop-ups focused on encouraging women to start businesses and providing best-in-class support to help them develop products and get early access to funding.

SME Loan Fund With Cashback

The SME Loan fund offers small and medium-sized enterprises based in Scotland unsecured, interest-free loans of up to £100,000 for renewable or energy efficiency projects. You may be able to get up to £30,000 as cashback.

The funding is available to help you pay for energy and carbon-saving upgrades in your business.

Click here to find out more now

Free Digital Skills Courses

The Tay Cities Region Deal has announced free digital skills courses for people living and working in the Tay Cities region, which includes Fife.  

The Digital Skills Project is part of the £20 million Regional Skills and Employability Development Programme funded by the Scottish Government.

The project will work in collaboration with The Data Lab to help workers adapt to increasingly automated, digitalised, and data-driven workplaces.  

Click here to find out more

Fife Health and Social Care Partnership Workplace Team Toolkits

Fife Health and Social Care Workplace Team have developed topical toolkits and infobytes that may be of interest to you and your workers.

You can use the toolkits and infobytes to raise awareness of workforce health, safety and wellbeing. 

Click here to find out more

Discover the Techscaler Programme

Techscaler is a Scottish Government programme that connects tech startups in Scotland with experts who can help them grow and scale their businesses.

Techscaler membership provides tailored support for founders and leaders of tech startups. Benefits of membership include one to one mentoring, resources and playbooks, access to a network of exports and much more.

Click here to find out more

Latest Edition of FBM Update Now Available 

The latest edition of FBM Update is now available to read online or download now.

And this edition is packed with interesting articles, including details of an exciting new economic strategy for Fife, an update on Forth Green Freeport, and news from AM Phillip Trucktech, EC Aluminium, TJ Ross, Ductform and many more.  

Click here to read more articles

The Perfect Flexible Events Space at Enterprise Hub Fife

Whether you are planning a strategy session, looking to host a training workshop or require offsite meeting space, Enterprise Hub Fife offers bright and spacious areas with modern facilities in the heart of Fife.

Click here to find out more

Skin Clinic Is Pretty Sharp In Cowdenbeath

After launching her skin therapy business, Pretty Sharp Skin Specialists in May 2022, Martina-Jean Spence operated out of Smooth Laser Clinic in Cowdenbeath until the premises next door were renovated.  

On 11th June, she was finally able to open the doors of her own new bespoke skin clinic on the High Street in Cowdenbeath.

Click here to find out more

Social Media Advanced Marketing - Webinar

This course takes the experienced social media user to the next level.

From examining a wider range of social media channels, assessing social media management tools through to monitoring your competitors.

You’ll also find about the metrics you should be watching and get top tips on the rules you shouldn’t break. 

New Conditions On Public Sector Grants.

Applicants for Scottish public sector grants must support better pay and conditions for workers in order to qualify under new strengthened criteria which have come into force.

Organisations will now need to demonstrate they pay at least the real Living Wage and provide channels for workers to have an effective voice, as a condition of the application.

Croft House Grant

This scheme provides grants for crofters to improve and maintain the standards of crofter housing, with the aim of attracting and retaining people within the crofting areas of Scotland.

Funding may be used for major repairs, internal improvements, rebuilding work
and energy efficiency improvements.

Click here to find out more

Business Growth Accelerator Relief For Long Term Vacant Properties

Business Growth Accelerator (also known as Fresh Start Relief) is available for new tenants of long-term vacant properties and provides 100 per cent rates relief for one year.

The criteria for the relief is as follows:

• The rateable value of the property is under £100,000. 
• The property has to be in receipt of empty property rates relief for the six months prior to the new tenant taking occupation.
• The property is not used for payday lending.
• No longer than twelve months have elapsed since the property became occupied.

Click here to find out more

Access to Funding Roadshow

If your business is considering a fundraising campaign, join this event to get advice about the funding options available, the benefits of debt and equity and how to get Funder ready.

Join guest panellists from Scottish Enterprise, Bank of Scotland, Henderson Loggie and more to explore all these subjects and more in an interactive session.

Click here to find out more

TownsWeb Archiving Digitisation Grant

The TWA Digitisation Grant helps UK heritage institutions to digitise and digitally preserve their collections.

The grant can be used to fund the digitisation of bound volume collections, archive collections and photograph collections.

Click here to find out more

Export Controls and Licenses

Failing to meet the requirements of an export control can result in Customs Seizures, logistical problems and contractual penalties.

There are minimal grounds for defense if goods or technology get into the wrong hands. Directors, individuals and employees are subject to prosecution and the potential of a custodial sentence.

The workshop examines the current export control legislation and gives valuable guidance for compliance with the latest legislation for both Military and Dual-Use items.

Click here to find out more.