The news has been especially grim recently, from violence on the continent, spiking Covid cases and continued economic uncertainty.
And now, as fuel prices increase, Scotland’s relationship with the North-Eastern oil and gas fields has become ever more complicated.
The energy crisis has been like a wildfire, quickly spreading chaos to every corner of the UK, and Scotland is no exception.
Scottish businesses are well aware of the risks involved with oil and gas dependency, which is why support for green initiatives has grown considerably over the last two decades.
The invasion of Ukraine has added further complications though, prompting calls to reduce reliance on Russian oil and gas – but this has created divisions.
The Scottish Conservatives think ramping up North Sea oil production will help reduce dependence on Russia, but the First Minister has made it clear she doesn’t agree.
She says it will take years to open up new oil or gas fields and says the best move is to “accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels.”
So, I don’t suppose she was too impressed when the Cambo oil field to the west of Shetland was granted a license extension a few days ago.
Oil giant Shell UK withdrew from the development last year, and the controversial site’s license had been due to expire, so I’m sure the decision was a surprise to many.
Sturgeon isn’t alone in leaning more towards transitioning towards renewables though, and the green agenda remains the key talking point across many of our key industries.
This includes tech, and this has never been more evident following the recent ScotlandIS Cluster Ecosystem conference. It brought together some of the brightest minds in areas ranging from net-zero to space, robotics, cyber and more.
It served as a reminder of the incredible work being carried out, often silently in the background, to innovate and problem-solve.
Bringing a real spirit of hope, the organisation’s CEO Karen Meechan spoke of the importance of collaboration to drive our tech landscape and economy as a whole.
One of the event speakers, Dr Marie Macklin CBE, gave an especially inspirational address on her own awe-inspiring journey.
Back in 2009 she was among 20,000 people who protested Diageo’s closure of the Johnnie Walker bottling plant in Kilmarnock. The closure went ahead, but that didn’t deter Macklin whose story was just beginning.
She founded the Halo Urban Regeneration Company which bought the land from Diageo for just £1 – and set out to create a £63m regeneration project with world-class facilities
She had a vision for a sustainable community approach to a net zero carbon mixed-use development providing jobs, opportunity, clean energy, housing and more. The first phase of this impressive development has been more than a decade in the making.
Setting the bar high for UK eco-friendly developments, it boasts 107 solar panels, a solar carport, electric vehicle chargers, zero emissions bikes and charges, electric cars, an electric bus and more.
Macklin’s sentiment was backed by PWC’s Leo Johnson who discussed accelerating decarbonisation in businesses and supporting Scottish climate tech start-ups, whilst Craig Clark of Space Scotland highlighted the impressive and ongoing growth of the venture, of which has been well documented in this column.
The moral of this story is that Scotland’s long and proud entrepreneurial history – and the cutting-edge projects underway as we speak – should remind us that we have the resources, material and intellect, to ride the storm.
We must put our resources into the small and passionate businesses working relentlessly to make tomorrow better.
Scottish cities tech-nically on top
New businesses ventures are continuing to spring up in the technology space and existing companies are investing more than ever in tech.
Even better is the fact that Scotland is proving to be an extremely attractive base for operations.
Figures revealed at the recent West Midlands Tech Review held in Birmingham last week back this up.
UK digital minister, Chris Philp, was singing the country’s praises in the technology sector and said it has become third in the world to reach $1 trillion valuation, behind China and the US.
Spotlights were shone on Glasgow and Edinburgh for being among the top five cities for tech investment so far this year.
Companies in each region have received a combined total of £115million of investment, helping them to bolster their workforce, and boost innovation and production.
Several Scottish companies were hailed as success stories including audiobook app PocketFM, which raised £50million, and Glasgow-located global RegTech provider Encompass Corporation which raised £25million.
These businesses follow in the footsteps of some of the country’s biggest tech ‘unicorns’ such as SkyScanner and FanDuel, each which is worth more than $1billion.
The fact Scotland is home to such growth and talent is something to be extremely proud of, and it’s a trend that looks set to continue, because the nation’s digital economy is expected to grow by at least £2.2billion and create a further 34,000 over the next three years.
It Made Me Laugh
Matugga on my heartstrings
I love a good entrepreneur success story, so it was fantastic to hear that Matugga Distillery – the UK’s first black, female-owned distillery – has raised over £300,000 as part of its first crowdfunding phase.
The company smashed its targets even though it still had 15 days left on its campaign countdown.
The Livingston based rum distillery has plans to go global, taking inspiration from the owners’ African and Caribbean roots to create their Scottish rum.
The company also welcomed 200 new shareholders to help support the business, all garnered off the back of the fundraising campaign.
This innovative fundraising approach is proving more and more popular for new businesses and will allow the company to purchase new equipment and grow its team.
What a brilliant example of the very best of ingenuity and entrepreneurship from this central belt firm.
It Made Me Weep
Wonky Wonka products
It takes a lot for me to get annoyed at anyone trying to find new ways to generate income but hearing reports that a number that a number of counterfeit chocolate bars have made their way into Scottish newsagents really left a sour taste in my mouth.
Last week, Food Standards Scotland (FSS) warned sweet-toothed shoppers that fake versions of the Wonka Bar were in circulation and they’re potentially dangerous to consume.
I’m disgusted at the idea anyone would knowingly try to profiteer from selling them.
I know that making a quick buck may seem like a golden ticket, but anyone looking to cut corners at the risk of public health needs to think again.
