Makerteers Edinburgh Launch Event | Scotland's First Venture-Building Programme for Makers
Makerteers Edinburgh Launch Event | Scotland's First Venture-Building Programme for Makers
📅 Thursday 17 September 2026
🕕 6:00pm – 8:30pm
📍 Edinburgh Open Workshop
39–41 Assembly Street, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 7BQ
Scotland's first venture-building programme for makers starts here.
Imagine if Scotland's makers had a place to learn, collaborate and grow together.
A place where product entrepreneurs, inventors, designers, engineers and craftspeople could access practical support, expert knowledge and the right connections to help turn great ideas into successful ventures.
That's Makerteers.
Supported through the Scottish Government's Ecosystem Fund, Makerteers is Scotland's first six-month venture-building programme for makers, created to help ambitious people move from Maybe to Market.
Building a great product is only half the challenge. Building a sustainable business around it is where many makers struggle.
Over six months, Makerteers will provide practical workshops, specialist support, expert surgeries, proven tools and valuable connections to help you build stronger ventures, launch products with confidence and grow what you've started.
This Edinburgh Launch Event marks the beginning of that journey for makers across Edinburgh, the Lothians and the East of Scotland.
It's far more than a community meet-up. It's your opportunity to become part of the founding Makerteers cohort, discover everything planned for the programme, and secure your place in the workshops, support sessions and specialist activities that follow.
Why Edinburgh?
We're delighted to be launching our Edinburgh event at Edinburgh Open Workshop—one of Scotland's leading open-access makerspaces and a thriving hub for designers, engineers, artists, manufacturers and creative entrepreneurs.
With professional facilities spanning woodwork, metalwork, CNC machining, textiles, laser cutting, fabrication and more, Edinburgh Open Workshop embodies the collaborative, practical spirit that sits at the heart of Makerteers.
What you'll experience
Join makers from across Edinburgh and the East of Scotland for an inspiring, informal evening where you'll:
Discover Scotland's first venture-building programme for makers and how it can help accelerate your journey.
Meet fellow makers, inventors, designers, engineers and product entrepreneurs.
Learn about the workshops, specialist support surgeries, practical tools and resources available throughout the six-month programme.
Hear a series of short Forgeside Chats from makers who've successfully brought products to market.
Build connections with like-minded people who understand the challenges—and opportunities—of making physical products.
Get an exclusive first look at everything planned over the coming months.
Help shape the programme
Makerteers has been carefully designed around the challenges we've seen makers face time and time again.
But because this is our founding programme, we're inviting the first cohort to help refine and strengthen it.
We'll be asking questions such as:
Which topics would have the biggest impact on your business?
What practical support would help you move faster?
Which experts should we bring into the programme?
What tools, templates and resources would genuinely help you grow?
Your feedback will directly influence the future direction of Makerteers, helping ensure the programme delivers maximum value for Scotland's growing maker community.
What's included in the six-month programme?
Following the launch, participants will have the opportunity to access:
✔ Practical, hands-on workshops
✔ Specialist one-to-one support surgeries
✔ Expert mentors and guest speakers
✔ Smart software and admin automation tools
✔ Practical templates and business resources
✔ Manufacturing and production guidance
✔ Brand, commercial and route-to-market support
✔ Peer collaboration and accountability
✔ Showcase opportunities and valuable industry connections
Places throughout the programme will be limited, so attending the launch is the best opportunity to learn more and register your interest early.
Venue
We're proud to be hosting the Edinburgh launch at Edinburgh Open Workshop, a not-for-profit social enterprise and one of Scotland's most inspiring creative manufacturing communities. The workshop brings together professionals, start-ups, artists and hobbyists under one roof, providing shared access to industry-standard equipment, training and a supportive maker network.
There is limited free parking directly outside the workshop on a first-come, first-served basis, with additional free parking available nearby at Ocean Terminal if required.
Reserve your place
If you're building your first product, growing an existing maker business or simply have an idea you've always wanted to bring to life, this is your opportunity to join something new from the very beginning.
Become one of the founding members of Scotland's first venture-building programme for makers.
Help shape the programme.
Meet the people you'll build alongside.
Gain early access to the workshops, expert support and practical tools designed to help you move from Maybe to Market.
Spaces are limited, so reserve your place today—and take the future into your own hands.