Accelerating Female Founder Growth in Scotland

Scotland’s tech and entrepreneurial ecosystem has seen remarkable growth in recent years; however, female founders continue to face systemic barriers that make access to investment, networks, and quality resources more challenging. Despite the strong talent and ambition reserve, women-led startups tend to gain less funding and visibility compared to their counterparts. Recognising this gap, initiatives like AccelerateHER and Techscaler by CodeBase have been working in tandem to ensure that gender equity is built into Scotland’s innovation ecosystem from the ground up.

AccelerateHER drives the growth and visibility of female founders across Scotland, while Techscaler, delivered by CodeBase, complements this by providing the mentorship, networks, and ecosystem support that help these founders scale successfully. Together, they ensure women-led ventures have the guidance and opportunities needed to navigate the challenges of growth.

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AccelerateHER: Supporting Women-Led Ventures

AccelerateHER has been a critical part of Scotland’s entrepreneurial landscape for over a decade, working to accelerate the growth, visibility, and investment in high-potential female-led businesses. Over the past ten years, the organisation has supported over 7,000 women-led startups, providing guidance, networks, and strategic opportunities that allow women-led businesses to scale effectively.

The organisation works closely with a range of partners to deliver resources that help founders grow, from curated events and workshops to investor guidance and industry expertise. By building networks of women entrepreneurs, AccelerateHER creates an ecosystem where founders can share insights, exchange advice, and find role models who have navigated similar challenges. Their decade of experience ensures that support is targeted, practical, and responsive to the specific challenges women face when scaling tech ventures.

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Techscaler: Robust Reach and Infrastructure

Techscaler by CodeBase complements AccelerateHER’s work by providing the infrastructure and ecosystem connections that make growth possible. With an extensive regional presence across Scotland, Techscaler offers founders access to mentorship, technical guidance, funding pathways, and peer networks. By bridging geographic and sectoral gaps, Techscaler ensures that ambitious founders, particularly female founders, have access to the right support at the right stage of their journey.

Together, AccelerateHER and Techscaler combine industry experience, community-building, and ecosystem development expertise to create a system where female founders are supported at critical stages.

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A Partnership Built on Complementary Strengths

As partners of the Pathways Pledge, the Scottish Government’s mission to support female entrepreneurs, both AccelerateHER and Techscaler are aligned around the goal of creating meaningful opportunities for women-led startups. The collaboration between AccelerateHER and Techscaler is more than the sum of its parts. Each brings unique expertise that, when combined, strengthens Scotland’s broader entrepreneurial ecosystem. AccelerateHER’s deep experience supporting female founders complements Techscaler’s regional infrastructure and ecosystem connections, creating a partnership that is greater than the individual programmes alone. This alignment ensures that women-led ventures are not only supported in their immediate challenges but are also woven into the wider innovation landscape.

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What This Looks Like in Practice

The partnership delivers a wide range of initiatives designed to meet female founders where they are. Meetups across Techscaler regions provide spaces for female entrepreneurs to share experiences, exchange knowledge, and learn from inspirational business leaders. These gatherings foster community, strengthen networks, and create opportunities for collaborations that can fuel future growth.

Hackathons have been a particularly impactful tool. These collaborative events combine technical expertise with structured problem-solving, allowing founders to work on tangible business challenges with mentorship from experienced industry professionals. One notable hackathon in Glasgow demonstrated how structured sessions can turn concepts into actionable business strategies, equipping founders with clear next steps and concrete goals for scaling their ventures.

Plans are underway to expand hackathons and meetups to new regions, including the South of Scotland and Aberdeen, ensuring that female founders across the country benefit from access to technical support, mentorship, and peer learning.

Beyond events, the partnership focuses on increasing access to investment. Founders gain curated introductions, investor insight sessions, and opportunities to pitch to potential backers. By combining AccelerateHER’s expertise with Techscaler’s ecosystem connections, female-led startups have both the visibility and the strategic guidance required to secure funding and grow their businesses.

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Shared Goals, Real Impact

The outcomes of this long-term collaboration are building a richer, more sustainable startup ecosystem. It contributes to a growing pool of confident founders, clearer business strategies, and stronger connections with mentors and peers. Hackathons and meetups act as catalysts, helping founders move from ideation to execution with the guidance and support needed to scale successfully.

Beyond individual achievements, this partnership drives systemic change. By actively supporting female founders and embedding gender equity into Scotland’s tech ecosystem, AccelerateHER and Techscaler are reshaping the sector’s structure, fostering collaboration, knowledge sharing, and sustainable growth, and ensuring that future generations of entrepreneurs benefit from a more inclusive and resilient innovation ecosystem.

Looking ahead, the partnership will continue to grow its impact through new hackathons, regional meetups, and initiatives designed to reach female entrepreneurs across Scotland. By combining experience, infrastructure, and a shared commitment to inclusion, Techscaler and AccelerateHER are shaping a more connected, resilient, and ambitious ecosystem for the next generation of women-led ventures.

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Hear from AccerelerateHER

^“Techscaler has been a brilliant partner – collaborative, open-minded, and genuinely committed to building a more inclusive tech scene in Scotland. They’re not just talking about change; they’re investing in it, alongside organisations like ours. That makes a real difference, and we’re proud to stand alongside them.
_{Elizabeth Pirrie, CEO at AccelerateHER}

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^“Working with AccelerateHER is a joy and a pleasure, with the meetups we deliver in partnership are always well received and really open up discussions for women and provide a safe space for questions that are often not asked.  The speakers are always amazing women who are building successful businesses despite societal challenges. We’re looking forward to continuing our partnership to deliver more for female tech founders and creating a diverse tech ecosystem in Scotland.
_{Sarah-Jane Burns, Head of Regional Engagement – South of Scotland at CodeBase}