The Ultimate Awards Calendar for Small Businesses in Scotland
As a small business, it can be challenging to expand your reach. A clever way of doing so is by entering awards. Awards can increase your visibility, build credibility and help you stand out from competitors. Being shortlisted or winning an award also gives you something to share with your audience, helping to attract new customers and creating opportunities for your business.
We have put together an awards calendar that small businesses in Scotland can follow to ensure they don’t miss out on any opportunities to enter awards.
Nominations typically closing in:
January
The cHeRries Awards
Recognising excellence in HR, training and recruitment across Scottish businesses, these awards give small businesses the chance to showcase their strong teams, employee support, and positive workplace culture. Ultimately, this can strengthen your reputation and make your business more attractive to prospective employees.
ScotlandIS Digital Technology Awards
Think your tech business has something worth shouting about? The ScotlandIS Digital Technology Awards celebrate the people and businesses pushing Scotland’s digital industry forward, from AI and cyber security to software and beyond. For smaller tech companies, it’s a chance to put your expertise in the spotlight, build credibility and show that you can compete with the biggest names in the industry.
February
Fife Business Awards
Your success story deserves a spotlight. The Fife Business Awards recognise businesses making a real impact through growth, innovation, customer service and community contribution. Entering gives smaller businesses the chance to celebrate how far they have come, gain valuable recognition and position themselves as a business to watch across Fife.
The Marketing Society Star Awards
Great marketing doesn’t always come with a big budget. The Marketing Society Awards celebrate campaigns and talent that deliver real results and make a lasting impact. For smaller businesses, it’s a chance to prove that creativity and results can compete with bigger budgets, giving your marketing the recognition it deserves.
FSB Small Business Awards
With eight categories tailored to small businesses across the UK, the FSB awards offer smaller companies a great opportunity to showcase their achievements and gain valuable recognition. The awards are run regionally, with regional winners automatically progressing to the national awards. The benefits go beyond simply taking home a trophy. Regional finalists and winners receive promotion through FSB and HSBC UK, valuable networking opportunities and promotional assets to help showcase their success. National winners can also benefit from mentoring, increased exposure and further opportunities to promote their business.
March
Highlands and Islands Food and Drink Awards
From local producers to independent restaurants, Scotland’s food and drink scene is full of businesses worth shouting about. The Highlands and Islands Food and Drink Awards celebrate excellence, innovation and collaboration across the industry. For smaller producers, recognition can be a powerful stamp of quality, helping your products stand out and reach customers far beyond your local area.
Dumfries & Galloway Chamber Business Awards
Putting your business on the map starts with being recognised for the difference you make. The Dumfries & Galloway Chamber Business Awards celebrate the businesses, entrepreneurs and community organisations helping the region thrive and showcasing the best of Dumfries & Galloway. For smaller firms, it’s a chance to showcase your achievements while gaining valuable recognition that can boost confidence, open up new opportunities and help position your business for its next stage of growth.
April
Highlands and Islands Thistle Awards
These awards are specifically designed to celebrate tourism and hospitality businesses across the Scottish Highlands, making them a fantastic opportunity for smaller businesses to gain recognition within the industry. With 15 categories, there are plenty of ways to showcase what makes your business unique. Winning or even being shortlisted could also help you stand out from competitors and attract more customers during Scotland’s busy tourism seasons.
Aberdeen City and Shire Thistle Awards
Making visitors remember your business is what great tourism is all about. The Aberdeen City and Shire Thistle Awards celebrate the businesses and individuals setting the standard across tourism and hospitality. For independent cafés, accommodation providers, attractions and similar businesses, recognition can turn a great local reputation into greater visibility, helping more visitors discover what makes your business special.
May
Nature of Scotland Awards
The Nature of Scotland Awards recognise people, projects, partnerships and businesses making a positive contribution to Scotland’s natural environment. For small businesses, the awards can demonstrate genuine environmental credentials and help differentiate them to increasingly sustainability-conscious customers.
Highland Business Women Awards
The annual Highland Business Women Awards recognise the achievements of women in business across the Highland region. The Awards recognise the significant contribution that women make to all types of businesses and organisations in the area, as well as their contribution to the wider economy. Some categories require a membership to enter, others are open to guests.
June
Women’s Enterprise Scotland Awards
Great businesses start with great ideas, and these awards celebrate the women turning those ideas into success across Scotland. With categories covering start-ups, growth, innovation, service excellence, rural and digital business, they offer a brilliant opportunity to showcase what makes your business unique. For smaller women-led businesses, it’s a chance to get your achievements noticed, build your profile and connect with an inspiring network of female business leaders.
Helping It Happen Awards
Big things are happening in rural Scotland — and they don’t always happen in big businesses. The Helping It Happen Awards shine a light on the estates, farms, rural businesses and individuals making a real difference to their communities. For smaller rural businesses, it’s a fantastic opportunity to get the recognition they deserve, share their story and show just how much they contribute to Scotland’s rural economy.
Lanarkshire Business Excellence Awards
These awards celebrate businesses across Lanarkshire, with dedicated categories including Best Business (0–25 employees) alongside innovation, customer service, community impact and green business. The dedicated small-business category makes these particularly valuable for smaller firms that want to compete on their own scale rather than against large organisations.
July
Glasgow Business Awards
Although these awards are open to businesses of all sizes, they have a dedicated ‘Best Performing Small-Medium Business’ category, giving smaller businesses a real opportunity to stand out. With more than 650 people attending, including business leaders and industry professionals, the awards offer fantastic exposure and a chance to put your business firmly in the spotlight.
Scottish Borders Business Excellence Awards
Making a big impact doesn’t always mean being a big business. These awards celebrate success across the Scottish Borders, recognising growth, innovation, customer service and contribution to the local community. It’s a chance to step out from the crowd, put your hard work in the spotlight and show the local business community exactly what makes your business worth noticing.
Social Enterprise Awards Scotland
The Social Enterprise Awards Scotland are a particularly strong choice for small businesses that have a clear social or environmental purpose. This is because winners are recognised for their impact, innovation and contribution to society, rather than simply their size or turnover. This could significantly increase your business’s reach and visibility by putting your work in front of a wider audience, building credibility and connecting you with potential customers, partners and other organisations across Scotland.
Your Scottish Wedding Awards
Planning your next big wedding booking? Couples want to know they’re choosing suppliers they can trust. Your Scottish Wedding Awards recognise businesses delivering quality, exceptional customer service and excellence across the Scottish wedding industry. For small suppliers, being shortlisted or winning can provide that all-important trust factor, reassuring couples that your business has been recognised for making their special day one to remember.
August
The Scottish CSR Excellence Awards
These awards recognise organisations demonstrating outstanding corporate social responsibility through areas such as community engagement, sustainability, employee initiatives and ethical business practices. Small businesses can use recognition to turn their community and responsible-business activity into a tangible point of difference, because it provides external proof that their values are more than just words and that they are actively making a positive impact.
ASB Awards
With categories such as ‘Micro Business of the Year’ or ‘New Start-up of the Year’, these awards are a great fit for smaller businesses looking to gain recognition for their hard work and achievements. Even if you don’t win, the ASB Awards can showcase your small business, strengthen your credibility, raise your profile and open doors to new customers, connections and opportunities across Scotland.
Scotland Loves Local Awards
Do you own a small local business that makes a big difference in your community? These awards recognise the businesses and individuals helping Scottish towns and local economies thrive, including High Street Heroes. For small businesses, it’s a chance to showcase your contribution, raise your profile locally and connect with new customers, organisations and opportunities.
Living Wage Scotland Awards 2026
Celebrating businesses that go beyond the minimum to create fairer, more rewarding workplaces, this recognition highlights employers committed to paying the real Living Wage. For small businesses, it’s a chance to stand out as an employer that genuinely values its people, helping attract and retain great staff while strengthening its reputation.
September
The Herald Scottish Family Business Awards
These awards celebrate family-owned businesses across Scotland, recognising longevity, growth, innovation, leadership and contribution to the economy. For smaller family firms, they provide an opportunity to turn their heritage and long-term commitment into a distinctive competitive advantage.
Business Women Scotland Top 100 Awards
A fantastic opportunity for smaller, female-led businesses to put themselves firmly in the spotlight, these awards celebrate the achievements of women across Scotland. As well as gaining recognition alongside some of Scotland’s most successful businesswomen, finalists can benefit from valuable networking opportunities, new connections and increased exposure within the Scottish business community.
Ayrshire Business Awards
Recognising strong growth and development within Ayrshire, this award is ideal for small companies experiencing rapid expansion. If your business has overcome challenges, grown its team, increased its customer base or reached significant milestones, being nominated provides valuable external recognition and showcases the ambition driving your success.
October
Perthshire Business Star Awards
These awards celebrate successful businesses and individuals across Perthshire, recognising achievement, innovation and contribution to the local economy. For small businesses, recognition from these awards can do more than raise your profile — it can build trust within the local community, strengthen relationships with customers and suppliers, and help you stand out from larger competitors.
November
Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce Business Awards
Celebrating Edinburgh businesses for achievements in growth, innovation, sustainability, leadership and community contribution, the awards also include a dedicated ‘Business of the Year’ category for smaller companies, creating a fairer opportunity for recognition. Being recognised by Edinburgh’s business community can boost credibility and help attract new customers, partnerships and opportunities.
December
HBW Charity of the Year Awards
Not your typical award, this one is designed specifically to support charities. Rather than simply taking home a trophy, the winner gains the opportunity to work closely with the HBW Committee, raising awareness of their cause and promoting ongoing projects and campaigns. This could be particularly valuable for smaller charities, where funding, visibility and support can often be limited.
Entering awards can be a great way to raise your profile, build credibility and attract new opportunities. Whether you’re a start-up, tourism business, female-led business or social enterprise, there’s an award out there for you. If you’ve missed this year’s deadlines, start preparing now and make next year your chance to shine!