CivTech cohort announced, InstaClaim launch, Flexitricity acquisition, SGN Games Action Plan
Here’s your Campfire for January 26, 2026
💼 Johnston Carmichael are a leading accountancy and business advisory firm, with offices throughout Scotland, in Newcastle and London. A partner owned firm for over 85 years, they have grown to offer core and specialist services to business of all sizes.
With specialist sector teams, they are fast becoming one of the most trusted advisers for entrepreneurs, founders and businesses that are successfully scaling.
Talk to the team today to discuss what growth stage your business is at.
🌊 Updates
🧾 Edinburgh-based InstaClaim has launched, described as an “expense documentation platform designed for grant-funded and project-based organisation,” allowing the creation of claim documentation for projects, grants, and expenses, in minutes. Find out more here.
🏭 Edinburgh-based utility company Flexitricity is in the process of being acquired by Drax (operators of biomass, hydroelectric power-plants in England and Scotland) for £42m. DGT
🏴 Civtech Scotland (challenge projects for issues faced by public sector orgs) announced the twelve companies that have each been awarded £35k as part of its accelerator. They include Ocean Intelligence (monitoring systems for sustainable fish farming), Daysix (digital platform providing hyper-personalised support for those with long-term health conditions), Arcology, Zimplex.AI, Poteris (workflow assistance like incident reporting and administrative tasks) for teachers, Smart Data Foundry (analysis of infrastructure an accessibility for festivals, and more. Read the full list here. DGT FS
🎮 The Scottish Games Network launched its report and proposal for how the government could help grow the Scottish games industry. According to the report, Scottish games developers deliver £151,382 gross value added (GVA) per head, however the industry here is behind countries like Finland (annual turnover of £2.47b/year with 270 studios compared to Scotland’s £340m/year with 130 studios). Read the report here. FS DGT
📣 Asks & Offers
🚨 Start to Scale by Shepherd and Wedderburn is offering eligible subscribers of Campfire exclusive access to their ‘Start to Scale Hub’ which helps companies create template legal agreements in minutes for free. To learn more and request access click 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 Campfire? Have an opinion you'd like to share? get in touch!
📅 Events
⛓️💥 27/01, 17:00, 🗺️ Edinburgh: Blockchain Scotland Meetup . An industry association empowering Scottish innovation through blockchain technology. Connecting entrepreneurs, developers, and industry leaders. MORE INFO
💡27/01, 17:00, 🗺️ Edinburgh: From Idea to Product: Using No-/Low-Code to Build Working Products. This practical webinar is designed for founders who want to turn ideas into working products using today’s AI and no-code tools. MORE INFO
♻️ 27/01, 09:00, 🗺️ Edinburgh: Greentech Meetup: Sustainable AI at the Speed of Light Join our monthly meetup where you'll hear from a Greentech specialist, mingle with Edinburgh's Green community, and munch on free breakfast! MORE INFO
💻 27/01, 19:00, 🗺️ Edinburgh: Vibe Coding Collective in Edinburgh. This meetup is a social coding jam where we utilise AI to turn fun ideas into functional prototypes quickly. Whether you’re an experienced developer or have never written a line of code, you’ll fit right in. MORE INFO
👯♂️ 28/01, 18:00, 🗺️ Edinburgh: Edinburgh Network: Tech Startups, Professionals & Investors Connect Event. Connect with tech entrepreneurs, tech investors, startup founders, and industry innovators. MORE INFO
🧪 29/01, 18:00, 🗺️ Edinburgh: Edinburgh Data Science + AI January Meetup Edinburgh's community meetup for people working in - or just interested in - Data Science and AI. MORE INFO
💻 29/01, 09:00, 🗺️ Perth: Perth Tech Mornings Open to everyone, join us in the Perth Ideas Centre in Perth Creative Exchange to connect with members of the local tech community. Come long for some coffee, networking and building connections. MORE INFO
👯♂️ 29/01, 10:30, 🗺️ Perth: Perth Coworking Day Join us at the Perth Ideas Centre in Perth Creative Exchange for a day of free coworking. This is a great opportunity to connect with the regional tech and business community, use the excellent facilities available and get an extra dose of motivation. MORE INFO
👯♂️ 29/01, 08:30, 🗺️ Edinburgh: Coworking Open Day experience working from our friendly and professional shared workspace at The Melting Pot for an entire day completely free of charge. MORE INFO
☕️ Unfiltered Series: Open to everyone, join CodeBase to connect with members of the local tech community. Come for a coffee, networking, & build connections!
☕ 04/02, 08:30 🗺️ Aberdeen: MORE INFO
☕ 04/02, 08:30 🗺️ Edinburgh: MORE INFO
☕ 05/02, 09:00 🗺️ Glasgow: MORE INFO
☕ 05/02, 09:00 🗺️ Dundee: MORE INFO
☕ 03/02, 09:00 🗺️ Inverness: MORE INFO
☕ 03/02, 09:00 🗺️ Stirling: MORE INFO
☕ 03/02, 09:00 🗺️ Dumfries: MORE INFO
👯♂️ 03/02, 18:30, 🗺️ Edinburgh: Edinburgh Fellows meetup An informal monthly meet-up for RSA Fellows in Edinburgh, held on the first working Tuesday at Canopy Café, for relaxed chats, connections and idea-sharing over coffee or drinks. MORE INFO
💻 04/02, 10:00, 🗺️ Dundee: Future Skills for Tayside Tech: DigiTay Roundtable A half-day, industry-led roundtable for Tayside tech employers and stakeholders to identify digital skills gaps and co-design future-ready training pathways for Dundee, Perth & Kinross, North East Fife and Angus. MORE INFO
👯♂️ 04/02, 18:00, 🗺️ Edinburgh: Edinburgh Network: Tech Startups, Professionals & Investors Connect Event. Connect with tech entrepreneurs, tech investors, startup founders, and industry innovators. MORE INFO
💻 04/02, 10:00, 🗺️ Dumfries: Pathways Expo - Dumfries & Galloway A welcoming, hands-on Pathways Expo for early-stage entrepreneurs featuring 1:1 expert support (marketing, social, LinkedIn, ads, finance and action-planning), professional headshots, short business talks, supportive networking and lunch included. MORE INFO
📈 05/02, 13:00, 🗺️ Dumfries: Scale your Social Enterprise An interactive workshop for service-based organisations exploring how technology can unlock growth, scale services, and support new tech-enabled business models, led by CodeBase and South of Scotland Enterprise. MORE INFO
⭐️ 05/02, 10:00, 🗺️ Edinburgh: How to Magnetise and Convert Clients on LinkedIn Using Story. A fireside chat with storytelling trainer Karis Gill on how to use strategic personal story on LinkedIn to attract clients more naturally, with practical tips and real examples you can apply straight away. MORE INFO
⭐️ 05/02, 18:00, 🗺️ Glasgow: Tech Meetup Glasgow An inclusive Tech MeetUp Glasgow at The Social Hub, open to everyone, with drinks, pizza, networking, an icebreaker and speakers MORE INFO
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That’s all for this week - have a great one!
Team 🔥 Campfire
Photo by Ocean Intelligence