Grant Funding

Updated 17 October 2025: We will be opening our latest round of Grant Funding soon.

Stay up to date by joining our mailing list or follow us on Instagram or LinkedIn for the latest announcements or book an appointment with the START UP team to discuss your options.

We can provide financial support to help you build or grow your business, freelance career, or social enterprise. Our grants are equity-free, meaning we don't take any shares or stakes in your business.

We can award grants in any amount up to £3,000. We issue smaller grants to help with business exploration, including market research. We issue larger grants to help with business development, such as prototyping.

The grant funding application process will also help you to create a strong proposition for your business idea. Everyone who engages with us will walk away with a stronger proposition and richer experience. The process can also help you with self-reflection and assessment, applying for future funding and practising your pitch.

Our grant funding is just one option available to you, book an appointment with our Entrepreneurship and Start-up Consultants to discuss your options.

How do I apply for grant funding?

We run selection panels to award grant funding. As part of this, we'll ask you to do a short pitch to explain what you would spend the funds on and why. The 'why' is the most important part.

An Entrepreneurship and Start-up Consultant or Business Adviser can refer you to a selection panel and help you prepare to pitch. You will need to make an appointment with the START UP team before you can access grant funding.

 

Here's what you need to know about START UP Grant Funding

Who is it for?

We can award grants up to £3,000 to help with more advanced or pre-start businesses or early-stage start-ups with a well-defined and well researched business idea.

How do I apply for grant funding?

We understand that funding opportunities can be exciting, but our support process is designed to help you build a strong foundation for your business.

You move at your pace through our support, starting off by working with one of our Entrepreneurship & Start-up Consultants, Laura and Rebecca. They’ll help you explore and validate your business opportunity. Once you have a clearly defined opportunity supported by market research (both primary and secondary), they’ll refer you to a Business Adviser.

A Business Adviser will then work with you to advance your business or idea, including exploring its fit with the grant funding criteria.

Please note: We don’t fast-track support based on funding calls. Our goal is to ensure you’re fully prepared to make the most of any opportunity, at the right pace.

• You must be actively working with the START UP team with a minimum of 2 meetings with a Business Adviser before you can access grant funding.
• A nomination from a Start-up Business Adviser is required to be considered for grant funding.
• This round of grant funding will close on Friday 16 January 2026.
• Grant funding applications will be reviewed and shortlisted. Please note that not all applicants will be invited to the selection panel.
• If shortlisted, you’ll be invited to present at the grant funding panel. As part of this panel, we'll ask you to do a short pitch to explain what you would spend the funds on and why. The 'why' is the most important part.
• If you are not already working with the START UP team, book an appointment to discuss your options.

What are the application criteria?

As part of the initial grant funding application and (if successful) the following panel round, we will assess all grant funding requests against the following criteria: 

• The Opportunity - what problem are you solving? Who is your customer? How will you reach your customer? How will you generate revenue? What is the minimum viable product?  

• The Context – does your solution address a genuine need? How do you know? How big is the market? The panel will expect to see evidence of primary and secondary market research including competitors and what would give you a competitive edge. What are the challenges e.g. regulatory considerations?

• The People – do you/ the team have, or how are you actively developing the necessary skills, knowledge, experience and market awareness to successfully drive this opportunity forward/ run the business?   

• The Ask – what are your total start-up costs? What are the most important costs inherent to your business model? How much START UP Grant Funding are you applying for? What would a START UP Grant enable you to do? What are your options to bridge any finance/ funding gaps? 

What important details do I need to know?

• Funding is limited and not guaranteed; it's a competitive process
• Your business/ business opportunity must be based in the UK (this is our area of expertise) but can be reaching wider markets.
• For our international students, visa restrictions may apply that limit how far you can engage with business activity – please see more information on our support for international students or contact the Visa Support team for advice
• If you go on to start a business after receiving grant funding the team will capture details of your start-up to track impact.