Five ambitious, high-growth businesses poised to strengthen Scotland’s economy are celebrating after being named joint winners of the Regional EDGE North East prize fund, sharing £100,000.
Following a successful pilot in 2025, Regional EDGE, the regional arm of Scottish EDGE, returned in 2026 to offer entrepreneurs from across North East Scotland the chance to pitch for a share of the £100,00 prize. Funds were allocated through a competitive process, which involved pitching to a panel of judges, and delivered in collaboration with Opportunity North East (ONE).
The awards ceremony took place at One Tech Hub with previous Regional EDGE winners Soumya Palliyil (Brigid Bio) and Luci Carey (inGlaze) doing the honours as guest speakers. The event marks the second of four such awards ceremonies taking place across Highlands and Islands, Aberdeen, Tayside, and South of Scotland.
Of the 10 shortlisted North East finalists, Canny Mushrooms and Cask Ventures took home £10,000 for their sustainable and healthy canned mushrooms, and smart IoT whisky measuring sensor respectively. Taking home the £15,000 prizes were Hey Joey for its AI-powered support platform for families of neurodivergent children, and Annie's German Bakery for authentic German breads, pretzels, and traditional cakes.
The top prize of £50,000 was awarded to Aqura Systems - developer of an autonomous AI-driven microorganism identification system to generate alerts and predictions of toxic algal blooms for the fish and shellfish farming industries.
As the regional top prize winner, Aqura will go on to compete against the leading businesses from the three other regions for an additional £50,000 through the Royal Bank of Scotland–supported Winner of Winners award. The final will take place in April, with the overall winner announced later that month. The award is part of Royal Bank of Scotland’s recently announced £1 million, three-year investment in Scottish EDGE.
As well as financial support, winners will also benefit from becoming EDGE Alumni, granting them access to a network of contacts and business acumen from Scotland’s biggest business funding competition.
Scottish Government committed to support the Regional EDGE competition for a further three years after the successful pilot in 2025, in which ONE also participated.
Left to right: Chris Hyde (Aqura Systems), Joanna Davis (Canny Mushrooms), Dilyara Iskakova (Hey Joey), Emad Elsayed & Susanne Moessner (Annie’s German Bakery), Martin Watt (Cask Ventures). Credit: Derek Ironside
Jennifer Craw MBE, CEO of Opportunity North East, said: “Congratulations to the winners and to all the finalists. This year’s competition generated remarkable interest, receiving more than twice as many applications as last year. That engagement speaks volumes about the entrepreneurial energy across the region. The founders presenting should be very proud of what they have achieved to date, and we look forward to supporting them in their next steps.”
“When Scottish EDGE approached ONE about hosting Regional EDGE North East last year, the fit was clear. Supporting founders and strengthening entrepreneurship is what we do. This year, our partnership has grown further. ONE is proud to be a supporting partner, contributing funding and hosting the competition and the final. That reflects our confidence in the founders across this region and the importance of backing them with the right support and investment.”
Evelyn McDonald, CEO of Scottish EDGE said: “Regional EDGE is fast becoming an important part of supporting ambitious entrepreneurs across Scotland. By taking our competitive pitch format to different parts of the country, we’re able to back businesses with the potential to grow, create jobs and strengthen the economy.
This round’s North East final has showcased the impressive strength of entrepreneurial talent across Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. We’re grateful to Opportunity North East for their support in making the awards possible and for helping us continue to champion the businesses building Scotland’s future.”
Scottish EDGE last month launched Round 27 of its country-wide funding competition, EDGE 27, with awards of up to £150,000 on offer. Applications will be accepted until 25th March via the Scottish EDGE website at www.scottishedge.com.