Here’s your Campfire for Tuesday, the 25th of August
📣 Asks, Offers, Updates, & Deadlines
💰 Scottish EDGE Round 28 is open Scotland’s biggest business funding competition is back with a £1.5m prize pot and a new top award of £200k. Applications are open to businesses across all sectors, from pre-trading startups to businesses trading for up to five years, with a range of awards offering grant and loan funding alongside expert support and connections. Applications close 2pm, 2 September 2026 and require a three-minute video pitch. Learn more and apply here
⚡ TechX Energy Transition Accelerator applications open Calling energy innovators. Applications are now open for the TechX Energy Transition Accelerator, supporting startups developing technologies that can accelerate the transition to a lower-carbon energy future. Successful applicants receive £50k in funding, expert mentorship, industry connections and support to commercialise and scale their solutions. Apply here.
💡 Calling engineers, scientists and researchers developing ‘high-potential technology or spinout ideas’. The Royal Academy of Engineering’s deep tech accelerator. ‘Enterprise Fellowships’, is open for applications until 25 August 2026. This 12 month cohort-based programme offers up to £75k in equity-free funding, ‘expert training, coaching and mentoring to help researchers, academics and founders build scalable engineering ventures’. Learn more and apply here.
🎤 Call for Speakers: Agentic AI Europe 2027 Applications are now open to speak at the 7th Edition of Agentic AI Europe, taking place 16–18 March 2027 in Edinburgh. If you’re building, researching or deploying Agentic AI and have practical insights or real-world experience to share, submit a proposal to speak at ‘Europe’s leading Agentic AI summit’. More info on becoming a speaker here.
👭 Interested in connecting with possible co-founders? Fill in your listing on Cofounder Curious today! Connect with others for possible cofounder matching here.
👷Are you hiring? Send us a blurb and we’ll include it in the next newsletter!
✍️ Want to write something for or share something with Campfire? Get in touch!
📅 Events
🧑💻 25/08, 11:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Co-Work Club Edinburgh Swap the home office for a day of coworking at The Hoxton, with a comfortable workspace, unlimited coffee and tea, pastries and the chance to connect with other local professionals. MORE INFO
💬 25/08, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Tech Meetup Edinburgh
A community meetup featuring networking, a tech demo, keynote speaker and updates from across Scotland’s tech ecosystem. MORE INFO
👩💼 26/08, 09:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: She Scales A networking and co-working day for women founders, offering dedicated time to connect, collaborate and work alongside other entrepreneurs. MORE INFO
💡 26/08, 09:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Sustainability Challenge Exchange
Got a sustainability challenge you’re trying to solve? Bring it to this collaborative breakfast at CodeBase, where founders, businesses and sustainability experts come together to share ideas, tackle real-world challenges and learn from one another. MORE INFO
⛓️ 26/08, 17:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Blockchain Scotland Meetup
Join developers, founders, researchers and blockchain enthusiasts for an evening of talks, networking, dinner and drinks at the Bayes Centre. MORE INFO
🏭 26/08, 09:00 🗺️ Blantyre: Reimagining Retrofit: Unlocking Resource Efficiency and Growth A practical session exploring how retrofit and high-performance buildings can improve resource efficiency, reduce emissions and support growth in manufacturing. MORE INFO
📸 27/08, 11:00 🗺️ Dumfries: Better Photos, Better Business Learn how to create professional photos and videos for your business using just your smartphone or camera, with practical tips to improve your visual content. MORE INFO
💡 27/08, 17:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: Product Circles: 5 Tables. 5 Topics. Real Product Experience. Skip the slides and join ProductTank Edinburgh for an evening of practical, peer-led discussions. Rotate between two themed tables, share real-world product challenges and learn from others in Edinburgh’s product community. MORE INFO
📈 27/08, 10:00 🗺️ Galashiels: Business and Enterprise Expo – Scottish Borders A free event for entrepreneurs, aspiring founders and early-stage businesses to build sales confidence, connect with local businesses and discover practical support to help them grow. MORE INFO
💻 27/08, 15:00 🌍 Online: How to Successfully Launch and Scale in the United States Thinking about expanding into the US? Join this practical Techscaler session with In2America to learn what it takes to successfully launch, hire and grow across the Atlantic, with insights from founders who’ve done it. MORE INFO
🧑💻 28/08, 09:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Founder Coworking Edinburgh A full day of coworking for founders and executives at scalable product companies, with dedicated workspace and plenty of opportunity to connect, share ideas and work alongside fellow founders. MORE INFO
⛓️ 01/09, 09:00 🗺️ Edinburgh: Edinburgh Decentralised Finance Summit 2026 A full-day summit bringing together developers, researchers, founders, investors and industry professionals to explore decentralised finance, with talks, networking and opportunities to connect across Scotland’s blockchain ecosystem. MORE INFO
💡 03/09, 11:00 💻 Online: The Secret to Selling What You’ve Built A free webinar for research and deep tech founders on turning complex technology into a proposition customers, pilot partners and investors understand and want to buy. MORE INFO
⚡ 07/09, 09:00 🗺️ Glasgow: The Power Hour Three experts share practical advice on accountancy, legal and intellectual property topics to help businesses avoid common pitfalls and support growth. MORE INFO
🚪 09/09, 16:00 🗺️ Glasgow: Tech Exits: Paths, Pitfalls and Possibilities Hear from tech founders about different routes to exiting a business, from trade sales and management buyouts to listings, with lessons learned and practical advice on maximising value, navigating the process and planning what comes next. MORE INFO
⚡ 10/09, 18:30 🗺️ Glasgow: TecTonic Night Summit – Scotland's innovation market square returns to BAaD for Glasgow Tech Week. Join 500 founders, investors, creatives and tech professionals for an evening of meaningful networking, startup showcases, mentorship and live experiences. MORE INFO
🤝 30/09, 17:30 🗺️ Glasgow: Focus on Founders Live 2026 An evening for founders and business owners to make meaningful connections and have honest conversations about the realities of building a business, with curated introductions to people who can help with the challenges they’re facing. MORE INFO
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That’s all for this week - have a great one!
Team 🔥 Campfire