£1.78m innovation programme to benefit 500 businesses
21st September 2026
A new three-year programme (14 September) is expected to help more than 500 businesses and social enterprises across the Highlands and Islands to innovate and grow.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has approved a £1.78m budget to fund the programme, which builds on ten years of innovation support by the agency.
Many parts of the region are home to high concentrations of micro and small businesses operating in sectors with lower average productivity. Those in more rural areas also face challenges around issues such as recruitment, connectivity and transport.
HIE’s new programme will address these challenges through specialist advice, knowledge exchange and financial support for research and development.
Grants of up to £10,000 are available to help businesses explore opportunities, assess feasibility and overcome technical issues. More complex research and development projects can apply for grants of up to £100,000 to help test ideas and bring innovations closer to market.
The programme will encourage and enable businesses and social enterprises to invest in innovation in order to grow and remain competitive.
It will help them improve productivity, develop new products and services, contribute to net zero ambitions and strengthen long-term economic resilience across the region.
The Minister for Innovation, Technology and Tertiary Education, Alyn Smith MSP said:
“As we set out in our ambitious Programme for Government, the Scottish Government’s aim is to make Scotland a better place to invest and do business. We want to help more businesses to start, scale, and innovate, backing growth in every region.
“It is great to see both the reach and ambition of Highlands and Islands Enterprise’s new £1.78m three-year Innovation Programme, dedicated to helping businesses and social enterprises in the region to innovate and improve productivity by combining specialist advice, knowledge exchange and grant support for research and development, to strengthen the region’s long-term economic resilience. I’m delighted that this programme will support 500 organisations, building on a decade of successful innovation support delivery from HIE.”
HIE’s head of innovation Gillian Galloway said:
“Innovation drives growth, competitiveness and resilience. That’s why it’s essential to building a strong wellbeing economy. The Highlands and Islands has a long history of innovation among businesses and social enterprises, as part of the agility needed to meet local challenges and adapt to changing circumstances.
“For many years now, we’ve supported clients to innovate and we look forward to building on that progress through this new programme.”