Businesswoman and investor Ana Stewart has been appointed the Scottish Government’s new Chief Entrepreneur.

Ms Stewart, who also co-authored a landmark “Pathways” report alongside former-Chief Entrepreneur Mark Logan, will take up the role until July 2026.

From this galvanising report reviewing the barriers women face in entering the entrepreneurial landscape, Stewart launched Pathways Forward, an initiative set to empower and enable women in entrepreneurship through industry pledges, networking events, and funding opportunities.

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes and Ms Stewart visited the offices of Inspirent, a social enterprise based in Hamilton, to mark the appointment and launch a new round of the Scottish Government’s Ecosystem Fund.

Inspirent will be the delivery partner of this year’s £700,000 fund, which is focused on developing the strength and impact of Scotland’s start-up community by funding organisations and programmes that support new companies to start and grow.

The application process is being fully digitised from this year through a dedicated online portal, enabling faster funding decisions and expanding opportunities for grassroots initiatives and community-led projects across Scotland.

£2.6 million has been awarded to 75 innovative projects through the Ecosystem fund since it launched in 2021-22.

“It is vital to Scotland’s economic resilience that we support our business community – particularly those taking their first steps,” deputy first minister Kate Forbes said.

“Ana Stewart is an exceptional talent with deep experience of starting, scaling, and investing in some of Scotland’s best companies and will ensure we are well-placed to deliver this support

“Scotland is home to some of the world’s brightest business minds, and innovators. The Scottish Government is committed to helping deliver an end-to-end support network that nurtures this talent and helps this and future generations of business founders to thrive.

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“To deliver a truly meaningful, strategic support, it is vital we continue to listen to learn from entrepreneurs and the wider business community.

“Ana Stewart beings the insight, lived experience, and connections needed to shape and accelerate our policies and deliver for Scotland’s start-up talent.”

The Scottish Government’s Chief Entrepreneur Ana Stewart said: “Leveraging my own lived experience as an entrepreneur and investor, I am looking forward to contributing to the development and optimisation of the Scottish Government’s entrepreneurship strategy.

“Entrepreneurship is the engine room for economic growth and it’s essential that we provide more pathways, increased access and accelerated funding to current and future founders, whilst ensuring private and public sector are aligned in making that happen.”

Stewart will be Scotland’s second chief entrepreneur following the departure of Mark Logan, ex-Skyscanner chief, who left the role in October.

Stewart described her taking up the role as a “dovetail” from her experience working with the government with Pathways Forward. Taking on the role of Chief Entrepreneur without pay, Stewart says she will work about eight days a month to strengthen the Scottish entrepreneurial sector.

“This is my chance to at least give something back, I want to contribute and hopefully optimise some of the great things that are already going on, and hopefully accelerate and expand into new avenues,” she said.

She imagines she’ll come up against the same hurdles as her predecessor, Logan, and hopes to focus on education to strengthen the entrepreneurial attitude in Scotland from an early age.