Fund to Attract Inward Investment Launches Fresh Round
A fund with a strong track record of bringing companies to Scotland to work with academic institutions has re-opened.
The Scottish Inward Investment Catalyst Fund (IICF) has launched a round for 2026 to support companies out with Scotland who are exploring investing or basing a presence here. They can apply for up to £10k to fund collaborations with Scotland’s universities, colleges and research institutes, focussed on priority opportunity areas including health tech, energy transition, space and food & drink innovation.
The Scottish Government fund the IICF, which is managed by Interface. Strengthening Scotland’s Inward investment capability is a key part of growing the economy, detailed in the Programme for Government 2026-2031 recently published.
Cabinet Secretary for Economy Stephen Flynn said: “Delivering economic growth is key for the Scottish Government and that’s why we want to help grow successful businesses that support good quality jobs.
“Scotland continues to be the top performing part of the UK for attracting inward investment outside London, despite the challenging global environment, and I want us to maintain that momentum.
“Our universities and colleges continue to play a pivotal role in driving economic growth, and the Inward Investment Catalyst Fund is a great example of how it successfully connects prospective investors with Scotland’s world-leading academic expertise. I look forward to seeing this year’s projects help attract investment and convert promising partnerships into long-term operations in Scotland.”
Interface’s Head of Strategic Programmes, Howell Davies, added: “The catalyst funding has proved an invaluable resource to give companies a first-hand view and experience of working with the excellent research and innovation base we have in Scotland, while getting to understand the wider support ecosystem and opportunities for developing a presence in Scotland. We are immensely proud of the fact 11 out of the 43 companies who successfully applied now have a Scottish entity and employ staff here.”
A previous awardee of the fund were Vaste Technologies, who worked with Edinburgh College to develop an online procurement platform for bioenergy, biofuel, and biotechnology companies, and are now working in waste tracking technology.
Evans Chelal, Founder and Chief Executive of Vaste, said: “The Inward Investment Catalyst Fund has given Vaste far more than capital. We’ve benefitted from strategic open doors to key stakeholders, including customers, talent, and investors. Through this support, Vaste can scale faster, reach further, and deliver greater value than we could by ourselves.”
The deadline for applications to the fund is Monday, 9 November, 2026. More information and the application form can be found here.
