A new crowdfunding initiative has been launched by the Entrepreneurial Scotland Foundation, with the aim of identifying the country’s untapped talent and creating a new generation of Scottish business leaders.
The campaign is looking to raise £75,000 to support the growth of foundation’s upcoming 2023 Saltire Scholar Internship Programme, which matches undergraduate students with companies across the globe for summer internships.
Chief executive Sean McGrath believes Entrepreneurial Scotland Foundation’s new initiative has the potential to boost the future Scottish economy. “Entrepreneurial people create the jobs, generate the wealth to reinvest and breathe life into the solutions we need,” he says.
“The Fund the Future campaign is crucial in laying the foundations for future generations to access opportunities that will support their journey to become the style of leader that Scotland needs to thrive, now and in the future.”
The Saltire Scholar Internship Programme helps to equip students with the skills, mindset and inspiration to create the maximum positive impact for themselves, businesses and the Scottish economy.
The crowdfunding initiative was launched to ensure the Saltire Scholar Internship Programme can offer as many opportunities as possible to young people, amid economic challenges, rising rent prices and implications of Covid - which have impacted the programme in the last year.
Mark Logan, former chief operating officer of Skyscanner and now chief entrepreneur for the Scottish Government, said: “Entrepreneurial Scotland’s programme is highly effective in nurturing the entrepreneurial spirit of our students, and in developing their expertise.
“It is extremely important for our future economy that we educate more of our undergraduate students in entrepreneurial thinking, and that we normalise entrepreneurialism as a career choice. I believe this programme is vital to that cause.”
The internship programme has only been operating at scale for the last six years. However, McGrath believes that with the £75,000 investment through the crowdfund, hundreds of more students will be able to access the opportunity.
The campaign has won the backing of one of Scotland’s most high-profile entrepreneurs, Lord Willie Haughey OBE.
The chair of City Facilities Management Holdings added: “Investing in young people is key to revitalising the economy and our society.
“Internship programmes like the one delivered by Entrepreneurial Scotland give young people the mindset and practical experience to go on to lead or create new businesses, which is vital for growth in Scotland.”
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