What is Regional EDGE?
Application open: 9am on 14th January
Application deadline: 2pm on 11th February
The purpose of Regional EDGE is to broaden the reach of Scottish EDGE support and ensure that businesses across Scotland, particularly those in regions that may not have previously engaged with EDGE, feel encouraged to participate.
A key component of this initiative is to strengthen and deepen our relationships with regional partners who are embedded within their communities and possess invaluable local expertise. The programme is backed by £400,000 of Scottish Government funding, and will be split across four regions.
The funds will be allocated via a competitive Scottish EDGE process delivered by region specific delivery partners, namely – Opportunity North East (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire), Elevator & GrowBiz (Perth & Kinross, Dundee & Angus), and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, and South of Scotland Enterprise (SOSE). Each region will deliver its own ‘finals’, all individually resulting in five winners.
Awards in each region will consist of one £50,000 top award (70/30 loan/grant split), two £15,000 (grant only), and two £10,000 awards (grant only).
Assessment Process & Criteria
If you meet the eligibility criteria listed below (see further down this page), you can apply to Regional EDGE by submitting an application through the application portal, which is accessible via the ‘APPLY HERE’ buttons above and below.
When your application has been submitted, it will be assessed by a panel of experts, and if successful, you will be invited to pitch at a live final in March 2026 (see Key Dates below for region-specific dates).
Whilst the competition standard and level of expectation can increase as you progress through the competition, the assessment criteria remains consistent across the 1st Stage assessments and the Live Final.
Each application will be judged by assessing the strengths of the following areas of your business proposal.
Value Proposition
Team
Impact
Customer Focus
Business Growth
Utilisation of Funding
Expanded definitions of each critera can be found by clicking here.
Regional EDGE Virtual Application Workshop
Upcoming Workshops:
General Application Workshop for Regional EDGE - 20th January 2026 at 10am
This workshop will detail the entire Regional EDGE process, from what makes for a strong application, what the judging panel look for when assessing your application and how to deliver a 3-minute video presentation. It will also explain the various processes and stages of the competition and what is expected of you at each stage.
The workshop is delivered by the Scottish EDGE team with support from regional partners and could be the first step in your Regional EDGE journey to winning funding of up to £50,000.
REGIONAL EDGE KEY DATES
The following dates provide a timeline of the Regional EDGE competition
14th January 2026 – Application window opens (9.00am)
20th January 2026 - Virtual application Workshop
11th February 2026 - Application window closes at 14.00.
16th February to 20th February 2026- 1st Stage Assessments undertaken.
1st Stage Assessment Results sent out by 23rd February 2026.
4th March 2026 - Live Pitching Support Workshop for finalists
4 Regional Final Days (face to face)
HIE (Highlands & Islands) – 12th March;
GrowBiz / Elevator (Tayside) – 17th March
ONE (North East) - 19th March
SOSE (South_ - 24th March 2026
Eligibility Criteria
What are the eligibility criteria for applying?
Ltd Co’s / Social Enterprises / Charities - Your business has been Incorporated at Companies House / OSCR
Ltd Co’s only - A minimum of 50% of the business ownership is attributed to Directors actively working in the business on a day-today basis
Sole Trader businesses can only apply for one of the grant awards (£15,000 or £10,000) and are not eligible to apply for the top award of £50,000 as this contains a loan.
Your business must be headquartered within the region to which you are applying, either Tayside (Dundee & Angus / Perth & Kinross), North East, Highlands and Islands, or South of Scotland
Your business has been in operation for less than 5 years, as at Regional EDGE application window closing date
Your business is head-quartered in Scotland and key business leaders must be resident in Scotland (min 50%)
Key business leaders have not won a main Scottish EDGE (Loan + Grant) award in a previous round either with this business or a different business (Previous Young EDGE or Wild Card EDGE winners can apply)
With support, your business has the potential to achieve new/increased cumulative sales of £200,000 over the next 3 years.
Current annual turnover does not exceed £1m and/or the business has not received external investment of £500,000 or more
Over the next 3 years, with support, your business should be capable of creating new, sustainable Scottish jobs
Your business is not in administration or liquidation, and your business’s directors or key principals have never been prosecuted for fraud or disqualified from becoming a business director
For All Non-UK Passport Holders – evidence of your visa status and visa expiry date is required
3-min Video Pitch
The video should be to the standard of that taken on a hand held mobile recording device or better – it is not necessary to pay for an external party to produce a professional video solely for this competition unless you really wish to do so. It is the content of the pitch which matters. We would encourage applicants to show their product or service in the 3 minute video as this often helps bring your offering to life for the judging panel during the assessment process.
YouTube is the preferred option for uploading video content and we would encourage applicants to amend their video to the unlisted option when uploading a video to YouTube (link below). The time limit for videos is 3 minutes maximum. Any video content beyond 3 minutes will not be viewed during assessments.
How to change video to Unlisted.
Once the video content has been uploaded to YouTube (or another preferred format i.e. Vimeo) then you must provide the full URL link on your Scottish EDGE Application where requested.
3 minute Pitch Video Examples
Enquiry Form
If you have any questions about your application, our categories, your eligibility or anything else, please use the contact form and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Alternatively, email us directly at:
info@scottishedge.com
Office Hours:
Mon-Fri: 9am - 5pm