Tech incubator CodeBase to set up second Scottish base in Stirling

Stirling Council leader Johanna Boyd, CodeBase CEO Stephen Coleman, Stirling Council head of economic development Carol Beattie and depute leader of Stirling Council Neil Benny - Image credit: Stewart Attwood/Stirling Council

Edinburgh-based tech incubator CodeBase is to open a new base in Stirling this month – its first centre outside Edinburgh – in a move it predicts will create hundreds of new jobs for the city.

The company – the UK’s largest tech incubator – will be working in partnership with Stirling Council, with its new site forming the first major building block in the city’s proposed digital district.

The digital district is a key part of the Stirling city deal, which was announced in the Chancellor’s autumn statement in November 2016 and is being developed by a cross-sector partnership that includes Stirling Council, the University of Stirling, Forth Valley College and local businesses. 

The intention is to grow the digital technology sector in Stirling, placing the city at the forefront of Scotland’s digital skills and leading to significant job creation.

Johanna Boyd, Stirling Council Leader said: “Our vision is to position Stirling as an economic and cultural powerhouse, and this key collaboration with CodeBase, along with our recently announced City Deal takes a significant step towards that goal.

“Our aim is to transform skills development, employability, social innovation, sustainability, and productivity, with a substantial impact on positive health, wellbeing and attainment for all our people.

“We look forward to working with the CodeBase team over the next few years to realise these plans for Stirling to become a centre of digital excellence.”

Having more than quadrupled in size since its March 2014 launch, CodeBase is home to over 90 startups which employ over 600 people. 

The team has helped to incubate companies which have raised over half a billion dollars of investment since its 2014 launch.

Commenting on the expansion, Stephen Coleman, CEO and co-founder of CodeBase, said: “As the UK’s largest scaleup incubator, we are positioning CodeBase Stirling at the heart of a new technology-driven Scotland.

“In advance of our UK-wide rollout we are leveraging Stirling’s central location to provide scaleup education, technology events and mentorship for Scotland’s digital companies.

“We are creating a hub that can drive real growth into the region and country and are excited to be teaming up with Stirling Council, the University of Stirling and other partners and believe Stirling can become an integral part of Scotland’s fast-growing tech scene with all the knock-on benefits that come with it - not least the potential for hundreds of jobs to be created in the city.”