The Ventures Lab, delivered by The Challenges Group, is partnering with Techscaler to boost the creation and growth of Scottish tech businesses with a social or environmental mission.

By working together, The Ventures Lab and Techscaler aim to strengthen the pipeline of impact-driven startups in Scotland.

In 2025/26, The Ventures Lab aims to support 40 high-growth, impact-led businesses to grow and scale.

This includes unlocking access to £2 million in Scottish Government loan investment through the Firstport Venture Catalyst Fund, helping mission-led businesses tackle some of the most pressing societal and environmental challenges.

Angie Lee, director of Venture Services, The Ventures Lab said: “By combining The Ventures Lab’s strengths in impact business support with Techscaler’s leading role in the tech startup space, we’re creating something far greater than the sum of its parts. It’s about building ventures that are investment-ready and impact-aligned and showing that values and viability go hand in hand.”

The partnership with Techscaler builds on a strong foundation of collaboration that The Ventures Lab has already developed with organisations such as Converge, Scottish EDGE, Firstport, and 19 Scottish universities. Together, these partnerships are building a pipeline of over 150 early-stage impact ventures.

Techscaler, the Scottish Government’s tech startup programme run by CodeBase, is already supporting over 1,000 tech startups across Scotland. Techscaler has other purpose-led collaborations in place, including its partnership with Sustainable Ventures, one of the world’s leading climate tech hubs. The new partnership will give purpose-led founders direct access to The Ventures Lab dedicated programme.

The Ventures Lab offers bespoke, hands-on guidance to help businesses build solid foundations, develop robust revenue-generating models, and create solutions to global problems. This holistic approach helps ventures become investment-ready while staying rooted in their purpose.

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“We’re excited to work closely with The Ventures Lab to give tech founders greater access to tools and support that help them understand, measure and communicate the impact of their work,” Jennifer McInroy, head of partnerships at CodeBase, said.

“Embedding this thinking early, alongside core startup development, can help create a mindset shift across the tech sector, where impact becomes a meaningful part of how innovation is defined and valued.”

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said: “Scotland has always been a nation of innovators, entrepreneurs and impact-makers.

“This strategic partnership between two of Scottish Government’s key economic growth programmes reflects the type of collaboration we need to see more of: focused, practical, and committed to supporting entrepreneurs and ventures delivering positive change both in Scotland and on the global stage.”

Tech founders who are building with purpose or are curious about how to embed impact into their businesses, are encouraged to connect with The Ventures Lab or Techscaler to explore the support available.