Where do I go for funding?

Do you know where to go for funding for your business growth plans? Depending upon the business you are in and what you want to do in terms of growing it, there are many opportunities to gain funding to help you grow.

Manufacturing Growth Program

If you're in manufacturing the Manufacturing Growth Program provides advice and support to manufacturing SMEs to help:

Identify opportunities and create plans for growth and improvement
Work with the best external experts to implement those plans
cover up to 35% of the cost of implementing those plans through a growth/improvement grant
Connect to wider support to maximise opportunities for growth

But there is other support as well:

South East Business Boost (SEBB)

Support available: Grants between £1,000 and £10,000 SEBB is available to support businesses in the SELEP region to grow. Its focus is on Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SME’s) and start-up companies. The objective is to boost companies and increase employment through support, guidance and grants. The project will improve business resilience, profitability and competitiveness. The programme will provide ‘growth grants’ to local businesses, creating new jobs and ‘new to the firm’ products. It will also support ‘pre-start’ companies and ‘start-up’ companies.

The aim of the scheme covers:

· Business Development: funding required enabling expansion of the business (for example, new technology and related processes)

· Plant, Machinery & Equipment: costs of and installation of machinery and hardware, and training required to operate it.

· Intangible Items: including costs of purchasing new IT software and training

Low carbon across the south east (LoCASE)

LoCASE is a consistent, accessible support programme that helps businesses work in ways that are environmentally-friendly, with low carbon emissions, and make the best use of resources. The project will improve business resilience, profitability and competitiveness, whilst contributing to the protection and preservation of the environment. It will do this by covering

· helping cover the cost of energy efficiency measures for any small or medium-sized business

· enabling businesses in the low carbon sector to expand and develop

Grants of between £1,000 and £10,000 are available to spend on parts and installation costs for items including:

· light-emitting diode (LED) lighting and controls

· energy-efficient motors, drives and air compressors

· heat exchangers

· building improvements

If your business offers low carbon goods or services, grants of between £1,000 and £10,000 are available to be spent on:

· purchasing equipment and machinery

· research and development

· marketing and website development

· business development consultancy

And these are just a few of the most popular schemes; go to gov.uk for a list of Government funded opportunities, or check out the BestGrowthhub Best For Business Grant Search web site for more ideas

Not sure where to start? Get in touch with us and we can discuss with you how to put a growth strategy together for your business.

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