More than £7 million worth of contract opportunities for entrepreneurs and businesses have been launched as part of the latest round of the Scottish Government CivTech Accelerator. 

As part of the programme, companies and individuals from across the country are invited to develop solutions for 13 key challenges – all of which have been set by public sector bodies, local councils, charities and the Scottish Government.  

The 2022 CivTech challenges focus on how to harness technology to empower communities, minority groups and marginalised individuals.  

Other projects aim to use technology to solve environmental challenges and improve transport infrastructure.  

Successful respondents are paid over several stages to work with public sector organisations to develop their proposals from ideas through to commercially viable products.  

The contract value available on each Challenge is between £350,000 and £800,000 per Challenge. The best ideas from initial submissions will be placed into the CivTech Accelerator, resulting in a Demo Day reveal in February 2023.  

Ivan McKee, Scottish Government Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise, said: “CivTech is a success story and its continued role in inspiring and innovating technology across Scotland is something to celebrate. 

“We want thinkers, creatives, entrepreneurs, innovators, to all come together and join us in finding answers to major challenges facing not just communities and individuals across the country, also around the world.”

Recommended

• Glasgow tech startups: 10 of the coolest
• UK cinemas to introduce digital ID scheme
• Scotland benefits from high-speed broadband programme

Launched in 2016, CivTech aims to transform the way that the public sector deploys new technology to improve the lives of Scotland’s citizens. 

During its first six years, CivTech set 64 Challenges for entrepreneurs and companies to solve, with 184 teams taking part in its initial Exploration Stage, and 71 teams going through to the Accelerator.   

Over 90% of the teams engaged were pre-starts, startups and early stage SMEs. 

McKee added: “This year the Scottish Government committed £6 million to this programme, which attests to the confidence we have in the real world solutions which the Accelerator produces. 

“The Scottish Government’s National Strategy for Economic Transformation will build upon this by helping deliver innovative solutions to build a sustainable economy.”

Get the latest news from DIGIT direct to your inbox 

Our newsletter covers the latest technology and IT news from Scotland and beyond, as well as in-depth features and exclusive interviews with leading figures and rising stars.  

To subscribe, click here.