Tracking down and locating sources of grants and funds can accelerate your plans and offer valuable support as you start up your business. There are a number of different sources of funding. The options available can depend on a range of factors including the length of time your business has been trading for, your own age, the industry sector your business operates in and the location of your business.
What is grant funding?
In general, grant funding is designed to support business ideas or businesses which will provide jobs or open up strategically important markets or industry sectors. The funding is usually offered to support a specified project and often the grant amount will require to be match funded. In other words, the amount of the grant will only cover a portion of the total project cost. In most cases, you will be required to pay the project costs upfront and then claim back the amount of the approved grant funding. So you need to think carefully about how you manage your cashflow to be able to make the most of any grants available to you. It can sometimes take many months for grant payments to be made to you.
Some grant and funding providers offer a range of business support in addition to access to funding. For example, help with business planning and help with finding a mentor to support as you move forward with your business plans.
How to get started
It’s important to note that these grants and funds are allocated and administered through other organisations, not the Women’s Business Centre. Availability and eligibility criteria for grants and funds, can change and therefore it’s best to start at the Find Business Support website which provides current details on grants and funding options available.
For more information on sources of funding, read this article