Scottish Enterprise Awards

Meet our amazing team

The Nomination Team can assist with answering any queries that you have regarding a nomination, or the process involved in taking part in one of our award programmes.

Please get in touch with us via email or over the phone if you have any questions - we are happy to help!

Meet The Team

Key Dates

Entries Open:Monday 4th August 2025

Entries Close:Monday 29th September 2025

Winners Announced:December 2025

About the SME Scottish Enterprise Awards

SME News is proud to present the Scottish Enterprise Awards 2025 – a dedicated celebration of the outstanding businesses and individuals powering innovation, growth, and success across Scotland’s dynamic economic landscape.

A Resilient and Evolving Economy

Scotland’s business community continues to show remarkable resilience and adaptability in the face of ongoing economic and social challenges. As of 2025, the Scottish economy is experiencing a positive outlook, with growth driven by key sectors such as renewable energy, food and drink, tourism, tech, and financial services.

From rural enterprises to urban start-ups, businesses are embracing change and creating real impact both locally and globally. The Scottish Enterprise Awards 2025 celebrates this spirit of resilience and ingenuity, recognising those leading the way in shaping a prosperous and progressive economy.

Award Coverage

The Scottish Enterprise Awards recognises the full breadth of the region’s business market, honouring those who are overcoming challenges, embracing new opportunities, and making a lasting impact in their industries and communities.

We welcome nominations from all corners of the business world – from family-run firms and ambitious start-ups to well-established industry leaders and social ventures creating meaningful change. Whether you’re an independent entrepreneur, a tech disruptor, an emerging brand, or a community-focused organisation, the Scottish Enterprise Awards is here to champion your success!

How It Works

Winners of the Scottish Enterprise Awards 2025 are chosen through a rigorous process of research and judging. Each nominee is assessed across a range of key criteria, including client testimonials, innovation, business performance, community impact, and significant milestones achieved over the past year. By focusing on real accomplishments and regional relevance, we ensure a fair and transparent selection process that shines a spotlight on the enterprises making a genuine difference across Scotland’s dynamic business landscape.

What Winners Receive

Winners will receive a complimentary place in our official online directory, as well as access to a free promotional toolkit to help highlight and celebrate their success. As SME News is proudly UK-focused with a dedicated audience of business leaders, investors, and decision-makers, winners benefit from valuable exposure across our national readership.

For those looking to further amplify their recognition, we offer a range of premium advertising opportunities – from in-depth editorial features and digital banners to professionally designed marketing materials tailored for a range of promotional needs.

Why Enter?

Taking part in the Scottish Enterprise Awards 2025 offers a valuable opportunity to:

✅ Build credibility across Scotland and the wider UK
✅ Gain exposure through SME News’ UK-based readership
✅ Attract new clients and business opportunities
✅ Highlight your leadership and innovation within your industry
✅ Celebrate your team’s hard work and achievements

Enter or Nominate

If you lead a dynamic Scottish enterprise, we encourage you to participate in the Scottish Enterprise Awards 2025. To put yourself or another worthy organisation forward, just click ‘Nominate Now’ and fill out the quick nomination form. SME News wish the best of luck to every nominee in this year’s awards!

FAQ's

How long has SME News been in circulation for?

SME News was first launched in 2017 making it one of AI Global Media’s newer publications. SME News is a quarterly magazine circulated to small business leaders and industry professionals who subscribe to receive. The publication seeks to inform, entertain, influence and endorse the start-up and SME business culture in the UK. We aim to achieve this by providing quality editorial and rigorous research utilising a multimedia platform capable of targeting key stakeholders of dedicated advisers, experts and contributors.

SME News is owned by AI Global Media, a UK based publisher which has over 200 issues to its name since 2010.

Where did the nomination come from?

In the interest of nurturing an environment proven to produce a high response rate, we don’t ask nominees to reveal any personal identity. With regards to methodology, we often nominate candidates ourselves and, when it comes to voting, if you didn’t cast a vote through a self-submission, it is likely to have been cast via a colleague or client who has received one of our direct invitations.

One of the main mantras of our awards system is that your ability to succeed is not linked to the number of votes received, meaning your award is presented purely on merit. In the interest of security and fairness, we track unusual behaviour on our website to identify repeat votes and cyber-threats.

What happens if I agree to be shortlisted?

In the interest of focusing our efforts on relevant and eager candidates, we ask all nominees to accept their position on the shortlist giving people complete control in the decision on whether they would like to move forward with the award. Nominees who accept are subject to our scrutiny during the internal vetting procedure and are given the opportunity to present their own data to be considered alongside information collated by our research team. This can take up to 8 weeks for final assessments to be rendered.

Who makes the final decision?

We employ a panel of five professionals to conduct research of our nominees whom collectively hold in excess of 30 years of experience researching business practices. SME News’ research is overseen by Martyn Walters who joined the team in 2015 and holds a master’s in history and experience in coaching, sales and hospitality.

This two-tiered system allows for a neutral mediator which we feel allows a more efficient method when determining individuals and companies most deserving of winning an award and has brought us much success and commendation throughout its use.

Is there a winner’s ceremony/award dinner and if so, when does it take place?

The short answer is, no.

We decided to not focus our efforts on a celebratory event. Despite being an enjoyable occasion, it doesn’t support our group’s philosophy of cost-effective marketing. We follow the belief that optional costs associated with an award are better placed in a year’s worth of online marketing for the winner rather than spending large sums on a ceremonial evening.

Our press announcements are made digitally, online and across our network to enforce our position as digital publishers. We aim to provide you with the tools (both digital and physical) to generate real-world value.

What happens if I am deemed successful?

After you have been notified we enforce a short press embargo while the programme manager will liaise with you to establish your preferred method of coverage. Generally, our coverage takes the form of a digital celebratory magazine, we also offer physical trophies, wall mounted certificates and plaques and digital certificates, web-based advertisements and press releases which can be custom designed for you or your company.

Are there any costs involved?

As mentioned there are no compulsory costs in accepting a nomination or winning an award with SME News. We do offer a variety of paid additional benefits for our winners, but these are completely optional. To demonstrate our commitment to no mandatory fees, all our winners are offered a free of charge promotional package. Our company policy will always remain: regardless of budget, our clients should always be able to garner the full value of the award and our seal of approval. We offer a variety of promotional opportunities to our winners, as we have an extensive network and we know, more than anyone, the wider business benefits from promoting industry awards.

Why does your email domain differ from your website domain?

Because we send a large volume of emails, we separate our campaign email sends from our transactional ones. This structure helps to ensure a prompt and thorough response from one of our diligent team members. The sending email address will always be recognisable but please contact us via the address on this page if you have any concerns.

Methodology

Researching nominees

The SME News team work ardently to identify market leaders, innovators and enterprising start-ups, driving many of the nominations themselves.

We also encourage external nominations via the SME News subscribers, online visitors, social media followers, clients and wider circulation.

Nominating parties are invited to put forward either third-party businesses whom they hold in high regard, or their own organisation.

Shortlisting nominees

All nominees are formally requested to accept their nomination. Should any firm or individual rather decline at this point, they are simply taken out of the running.

Those formally accepting are given the opportunity to submit additional materials in support of their nomination. Although there is no obligation to complete and supply material, we have found that many nominees value this stage, in the process, as much as our research team do.

Evaluating and judging

Our dedicated research team will assess all information presented to them.

The team gather information independently from a variety of publicly accessible sources, which are assessed alongside any material supplied by a nominating party or the nominee themselves.

The research team casts their final judgment, based on various criteria including: client dedication, innovation, business growth, longevity, online reputation, customer feedback and business performance.

Our deserving winners

Once winners are determined, they are personally notified before any public announcement is made, allowing time for any communications throughout the wider business and the coordination of marketing strategies.

Unfortunately, not everyone can be a winner; however, all who take part are encouraged to come back next year.

Once the press embargo is lifted, details of our SME award winners will be made public via the website, award winners’ magazine and subscriber newsletter.

Making the most

We are prepared to offer a range of promotional packages and items to SME award winners, which vary from inclusion in the free-of-charge winners’ directory, to trophies, content in our magazine and on our website.

We encourage all winners to publicly announce their win independently. Announcements via company websites, social media, via publicly released press releases, and through local and national press are all great ways of maximising the exposure which can be gained from such an amazing achievement. If you have need of further advice, on how to gain maximum exposure from your win, please feel free to get in touch. We are happy to assist our clients with their needs.

Scottish Enterprise Awards (2025)