Young EDGE — Round 27
Supports Scottish companies led by young directors through a grant-only path in the Young EDGE category for early business development.
⚠ This may reflect a past cycle — verify the current call on the funder's site.
Young EDGE is a dedicated award within Scotland's EDGE funding competition targeting early-stage Scottish companies where every company director is aged between 18 and 30. The award is grant-only — no loan is attached — with a maximum prize of £15,000. Non-executive directors and investors are excluded from the age eligibility check, meaning only active executive directors must satisfy the under-30 requirement. Round 27 followed the same application window as the Main category, closing on 25 March 2026 at 2pm.
Eligible businesses must be headquartered in Scotland and have been trading for fewer than five years, mirroring the core Scottish EDGE eligibility requirements. Because the award is pure grant with no repayment obligation, it represents a lower-risk entry point for very early-stage companies compared with the Main category's 70% loan component. In Round 26, the top Young EDGE award of £15,000 was taken by CAnswer BioSolutions, SEASAT, and Velocity Edge, with a second tier of £10,000 distributed across a further nine companies — illustrating that the programme typically makes multiple awards per round rather than a single winner. Assessment criteria mirror the Main EDGE rubric: Value Proposition, Entrepreneurial Spirit and Team, Business Growth Potential, Customer Focus, Utilisation of Funding, and Impact.
The most significant benefit beyond the cash award is the graduation pathway: the top Young EDGE winner receives a place at a future Scottish EDGE Semi-final alongside the prize money, providing direct access to the Main competition pipeline. This makes Young EDGE strategically valuable as a stepping stone into larger EDGE rounds for qualifying founder teams. Applicants must submit the standard Scottish EDGE online application and a three-minute video presentation.
Grant-only awards of up to £15,000 for Scottish early-stage companies where every director is aged 18 to 30, with no loan component.
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