Scottish Parliament – June 4, 2025 – 2

S6M-17785.2: As an amendment to motion S6M-17785 in the name of Kate Forbes (Empowering Entrepreneurs and Innovators), insert at end ";

believes that Scottish businesses across sectors have not had adequate support from the Scottish Government to break down barriers to innovation, and that support must extend beyond start-up stage to provide advice and investment for scaling up;

notes that the proportion of businesses in Scotland that are innovating, that is those introducing or developing a new product, service or process, has fallen from 50% in 2012-14 to just 32% in 2020-22, and calls on the Scottish Government to reform Scotland’s economic agencies to better support entrepreneurs and innovation in sectors across Scotland, including capital intensive sectors like life sciences and advanced manufacturing."

Original motion(S6M-17785): That the Parliament supports the Scottish Government’s ambition to establish Scotland as one of Europe’s fastest-growing start-up economies;

welcomes the significant progress made towards this goal;

congratulates Ana Stewart on her appointment as Scotland’s new Chief Entrepreneur, and welcomes the record investment of over £30 million to accelerate Scotland’s emergence as a leading hub for innovation, entrepreneurship and high-growth businesses.