Scotland has long been a nation of innovators, a fact which is just as true today as it has ever been. From world-leading universities and pioneering researchers to ambitious entrepreneurs building the technologies of the future, the ingredients for success are already here.

The question for Scotland’s economy today is not whether we can create ideas. It is whether we can turn more of that innovation into globally competitive businesses that create good jobs, attract investment and drive long-term economic growth.

Our recent research report found that Scotland is home to 1,737 innovative businesses, including 367 university spinouts. Since 2011, those businesses have been able to attract £6.4 billion in equity investment. It also found that Scotland outperformed the UK when it comes to commercialising innovative businesses, including attracting public funding and private investment.

And importantly, innovation is not concentrated in one city or region. From Glasgow and Edinburgh to Aberdeen, Dundee and the Highlands and Islands, innovative businesses are creating opportunities in communities across the country.

Scotland’s strengths should give us confidence.

Yet our research also identified that 358 of those businesses, continue to innovate but have not yet secured follow-on investment, achieved an exit or demonstrated a recognised scale-up signal.

We describe these firms as Scotland’s ‘untapped innovation cohort’. They are not businesses that have failed. They are businesses that represent untapped future growth potential. Helping more of those companies commercialise, scale and compete globally could be one of the biggest economic opportunities available to Scotland over the coming decade.

That is why the Royal Bank has deliberately expanded its support for Scotland’s innovation economy.

The expansion of Venture Banking to Scotland is an important part of that commitment. By bringing together specialist banking expertise, investor networks and tailored financing solutions, we will help more high-growth Scottish businesses access the capital, connections and support they need as they scale.

But Venture Banking is only one part of a broader effort.

Earlier this year, we became the first Scottish bank to offer intellectual property-backed lending, a game-changing proposition for Scotland’s creative sectors and university spinouts.

Alongside this, we are expanding our support through our Royal Bank Accelerator programme to Scotland’s entrepreneurs. This includes through expanding our partnerships with the University of Edinburgh, STAC and Harper Macleod, recognising that innovative businesses need more than funding – they need access to networks, customers, talent and expertise throughout their growth journey.

That insight is reinforced by our research. Businesses consistently tell us that successful commercialisation depends on three things: access to growth capital, strong innovation ecosystems and the capabilities needed to scale. Finance matters, but so do introductions, partnerships, leadership support and routes into new markets.

The encouraging news is that Scotland already possesses many of these foundations. We have world-class universities, a strong entrepreneurial culture, vibrant innovation clusters and a growing investor community. Scotland’s commercialisation performance already ranks among the strongest in the UK, demonstrating that the ecosystem is delivering results.

The opportunity now is to build on that momentum.

If we can help more founders move from innovation to impact, more spinouts become scale-ups and more Scottish businesses remain rooted here as they grow, the rewards will be significant. More investment. More high-skilled jobs. More productivity. More globally competitive Scottish companies.

Scotland has consistently proven throughout its history that it can create world-class ideas. Today’s challenge is about helping more of those ideas achieve commercial scale.

Through Venture Banking and our wider support for entrepreneurs, innovators and investors, we are committed to playing our part in making that happen.

Jenny Edwards, Head of Venture Banking, NatWest Group, which includes the Royal Bank of Scotland