Finance minister Kate Forbes to deliver keynote speech at EIE21

Finance and economy minister Kate Forbes is to deliver a keynote speech to launch a major Scottish tech investment conference.

Ms Forbes MSP, a former digital economy minister who was instrumental in commissioning last year’s Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review by former Skyscanner chief operating officer Mark Logan, is to deliver a ministerial speech at EIE21.

Karen Wood, director of enterprise at the University of Edinburgh’s Bayes Centre, said: “In the year when the Scottish Government is prioritising the delivery of the recommendations outlined in Mark Logan’s Scottish Technology Ecosystem Review, the Bayes Centre team is delighted that Cabinet Secretary Kate Forbes MSP is welcoming delegates to EIE21, supporting our ambition to deliver collaborative tech innovation and investment at scale on the international stage.”

Finance Secretary Kate Forbes is to speak at the EIE21 conference.

The event, billed as Scotland’s premier tech investor conference, will see company founders pitch for investment from seed level to up to multimillion series A and later-stage investment rounds.

Other speakers taking part in the conference include philanthropist and investor Sir Ronald Cohen, FanDuel co-founder Lesley Eccles, University of Edinburgh Principal Professor Peter Mathieson, and tyre tycoon Michael Welch.

Earlier this year, the team behind EIE, who are based at the Bayes Centre, launched this year’s EIE Scottish Startup Survey, with the study billed as the first of its kind to examine the relevant ecosystem. This year’s survey asks start-ups across Scotland about the main challenges faced and opportunities achieved in a year characterised by the ongoing Covid pandemic. The main findings are set to be released later this month.

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