Scottish Enterprise has welcomed the signing of the £1.1 billion Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal, which is an ambitious commitment to investing over £600 million in a research, development and innovation programme centred on data-driven innovation.
It describes the deal as a ‘once in a generation’ opportunity to capitalise on a data revolution worth an estimated £20 billion to Scotland’s economy, which could attract an additional 1,500 jobs to Scotland from inward investment alone by 2020.
Edinburgh City Region is home to many of Scotland’s world-leading data innovation assets, including the University of Edinburgh’s School of Informatics, the Edinburgh Parallel Computing Centre, and a tech start-up scene that has already produced two billion-dollar companies in Skyscanner and FanDuel.
Speaking after the deal was announced last month, Jane Martin, managing director of Scottish Enterprise, said: “This is fantastic news for Edinburgh and South East Scotland. The commitment from all partners will drive transformational economic growth for both the region and Scotland as a whole.”