Edinburgh named British entrepreneurial city of the year

The Capital was judged in the Great British Entrepreneur Awards against four key criteria: quality of life that attracts smart, entrepreneurial people; access to capital and talent; start-up ecosystems and entrepreneurial culture; and access to mentors and support networks.

The award is further great news for the city as earlier this month Edinburgh ranked third in the Good Growth for Cities Report and the Readers of European Business Magazine voted Edinburgh as the best city to locate your tech business.

The Council also announced last week that Edinburgh is to host EUROCITIES in 2018, welcoming all Europe’s major city leaders to the Capital.

Cllr Gavin Barrie, Economy Convener, said: “I’m delighted that Edinburgh has won yet another top business award, this time being recognised as a key centre for entrepreneurship.

“Edinburgh has one of Europe’s most vibrant entrepreneurial support ecosystems ranging from Scotland’s top performing Business Gateway region supporting start up businesses through to our world class universities promoting innovation and commercialisation. The city also has private sector incubation and accelerator initiatives such as Codebase, Creative Exchange and Entrepreneurial Spark.

“The strongest community of Angel Investors and venture capitalists per head of population in Europe is also located in Edinburgh, while Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce spearheads Scotland’s most comprehensive mentor matching programme.”