Grant Funding
Equity-free grant funding to help you start or grow a business opportunity.
Funding options
If you have a well-defined and well researched business idea or early-stage start-up – START UP Grant Funding could be the fund for you.
We can award grants up to £3,000 to support activity such as product development or further market testing.
Find out about START UP Grant Funding below
If you're still exploring your idea - earlier stage funding might be the route to explore first.
If you’re at the early stages of exploring a new opportunity and need some support with activity such as market research e.g. focus groups/ interviews/ surveys/ or prototyping. Or perhaps you’re exploring a freelance career and need some support to get started, take a look at the Make It Happen Fund first. You can apply for up to £500.
Here's what you need to know about START UP Grant Funding
Who is it for?
To help with well-defined and well researched business ideas (pre-start) and early stage start-ups.
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 set-out how you meet the criteria and what you would spend the funds on.
- 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?
Communication - Have you been able to present a clear and convincing proposition based on evidence?
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.
For more information about grant funding, please read our START UP Grant Funding Terms and Conditions (Nov 25).
START UP Grant Funding Guidance and Terms & Conditions (Accessible Document).
What if I'm not shortlisted or awarded a grant?
The support continues! There will also be other funding opportunities in the future. By going through the application process of exploring the funding call or submitting an application, the process is helping you to reflect and refine your proposition – a skill you’ll need for future opportunities.
If you have any questions about grant funding, contact us.
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