Techscaler, the Scots government’s tech startup support programme awarded to CodeBase, and FinTech Scotland, the cluster body driving Scotland’s fintech innovation, have announced a strategic partnership to drive forward Scotland’s fintech sector development.

Fintech SMEs now employ more than 10,500 people across 226 enterprises in Scotland, with around 38% of fintechs having reached scale-up stage.

FinTech Scotland’s affiliated scaling firms will now be able to access the comprehensive benefits offered by Techscaler membership, opening the door to a network and support system of mentorship, educational courses, community events, and more, enhancing collaboration opportunities and fostering growth for fintech innovators.

Techscaler runs three main programmes – Startup First Steps, Startup Next Steps, and Reforge. Techscaler’s partnership with Reforge, the career development platform for top-tier professionals in tech, brings access to Silicon Valley playbooks and best practices to founders in Scotland who are scaling their teams.

Techscaler’s fintech-focused members will also be introduced to the resources and opportunities provided by FinTech Scotland, bringing sector specific support to fintech founding teams.

To mark the initiation of the partnership, Techscaler and FinTech Scotland will host a Founder Roundtable next month to gather insights from fintechs, providing founders with the opportunity to engage directly with industry leaders and peers.

The insights gathered from the roundtable will be used to curate activities and support mechanisms that meet the fintech community’s needs.

The roundtable event will take place at CodeBase in Edinburgh on Wednesday 3 April at 10.30am after Unfiltered, CodeBase’s monthly open networking event.

Speaking on the partnership, Nicola Anderson, CEO of FinTech Scotland, said: “This collaboration is about getting behind Scotland scaling for tech, together. It underscores our joint dedication to cultivating innovation and showcasing the vibrant fintech community in Scotland.

“We look forward to bringing tangible benefits to our scaling fintech SMEs, and sharing our sector expertise with Techscaler founders, to build a robust and forward-thinking fintech cluster.”

Yasmin Sulaiman, VP of partnerships at CodeBase, also commented: “Connecting the diverse parts of the tech ecosystem is a huge part of our job running Techscaler for the Scottish government.

“When organisations like ours and FinTech Scotland come together to understand founders’ needs, we’re able to offer a much stronger suite of support and join up founders with the opportunities they’re looking for to grow.

“We’re looking forward to growing our partnership, and helping connect our community to FinTech Scotland’s expertise.”

Innovation minister Richard Lochhead further added: “Our £42 million Techscaler network is already showcasing some of Scotland’s most promising start-ups.

“This partnership with FinTech Scotland is another example of how the Techscaler network is helping to galvanise our innovative, collaborative and inclusive tech community by sharing knowledge and supporting growth.”

“Progress like this demonstrates Scotland’s ambition to become one of Europe’s leading start-up communities. We are setting an example and helping drive a fair and growing economy.”

Recommended reading

• Techscaler Welcomes First Cohort to Startup Next Steps Course
• FinTech Scotland Launches Financial Regulation Innovation Lab
• New Techscaler-STAC Partnership Aims to Support Scots Startups

Scotland’s commitment to fintech innovation is seen in its ten-year sector roadmap, targeting the creation of 30,000 jobs and an ambitious economic value increase of over 330%, surpassing £2 billion by the end of the decade.

The strategic vision aligns with the country’s focus on four key segments: open finance data, climate finance, payments and transactions, and financial regulation.

Through the partnership, Techscaler will lend its expertise to initiatives such as the Financial Regulation Innovation Lab (FRIL), launched by FinTech Scotland in December in partnership with mutual partners the University of Strathclyde and University of Glasgow.

The initiative seeks to advance understanding and adoption of new and emerging technologies in fintech through industry-led innovation challenges, skills and education programmes, workshops, roundtables, conferences, and trade missions.

Techscaler has forged multiple partnerships across and beyond the Scottish tech ecosystem since it has been operational, including with the chief scientist office’s NHS Innovation Hubs, govtech funding challenge programme CivTech, and STAC, the Internet of Things accelerator.