£20 Million in New Grants to Boost Recovery of Small Businesses
Small and medium sized businesses will have access to grants of between £1,000 – £5,000 to help them access new technology and other equipment as well as professional, legal, financial or other advice to help them get back on track.
Businesses will be able to use these new grants to pay for the expertise, equipment and technology they need to adapt, recover and rebuild.
The support will be fully funded by the government from the England European Regional Development Fund and distributed through Growth Hubs, embedded in local areas across England.
Further information:
- The support will be fully funded by the Government with no obligation for businesses to contribute financially
- The funding being provided to businesses is supported by the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020.
- The funding has been allocated to Growth Hubs within each LEP area in line with the current ERDF Programme. To view the Growth Hub Funding areas please follow the following link:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/906229/GH_Funding_Information_and_Allocations_FINAL_UPDATED_030820.pdf - Activities supported through the £20 million can include:- one-to-many events providing guidance to respond to coronavirus- small grants to:
o help businesses access specialist professional advice e.g. human resources, accountants, legal, financial, IT / digital
o purchase minor equipment to adapt or adopt new technology in order to continue to deliver business activity or diversify
The nature and value of grants awarded will be tailored to local circumstances, and will typically be up to £3,000. Under certain circumstances, and on a case-by-case basis, grants of up to £5,000 may be awarded.
The funding is being provided to address immediate needs and all grants must be awarded by 28 February 2021 and all activity fully completed by 31 March 2021.
To apply and find out more, please locate and contact your local Growth Hub. Details of all Growth Hubs can be found in the below link:
https://www.lepnetwork.net/local-growth-hub-contacts/
We are ourselves issuing regular updates via our website and e-mail cannons. If you are not receiving these and would like to be added to the list please e-mail [email protected] with the subject “Add me to your COVID-19 e-mails”.
