Access to finance
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are a vital part of the Scottish economy and contribute significantly to economic growth, so ensuring they have access to the finance they need to invest and grow is an important priority for the Scottish Government.
We want to make it easier for SMEs to access finance so that they can use it to support jobs and achieve growth. We are doing this through:
- the Scottish Growth Scheme
- providing information on all funding available to Scottish businesses on Find business support in Scotland
Scottish Growth Scheme
The Scottish Growth Scheme is a Programme for Government commitment by the First Minister offering up to £500 million of financial support to help businesses grow. This is being delivered through a number of initiatives. In 2021 this is delivered by a portfolio of five funds offering microfinance, loan and equity support to businesses:
- DSL Business Finance (microfinance) provides loans of up to £25,000 to start-ups and small businesses
- Business Loans Scotland (loans) provides loans in the range £25,000 to £250,000 for SMEs with growth ambitions
- UMi Scotland (loans) provides loans in the range £25,000 to £250,000 for SMEs with growth ambitions
- Foresight (equity) provides equity investment up to £2 million within a deal ceiling of £10 million for SMEs with high growth potential
- Techstart (equity) provides equity investment up to £2 million within a deal ceiling of £10 million for high growth start-ups and young, innovative SMEs