Monetary requirements are inevitable for starting a business and growing it to the next level; after all you need some money to make money. Using your savings and borrowing from friends and family is the most convenient way for most first time entrepreneurs, but when the funding requirement exceeds the capacity of friends and family, you do need some authentic and more reliable source of funding for your business.
That’s when you start looking for small business grants and low cost loans that can help you grow your business to the next level.
While these grants and loans can be great help for small businesses at the growth stage, you should not wait for the growth phase to generate funding for your startup. Ideally, you should have your eyes on new grants for small business, support funds offered by the private sector, low cost business and personal loans, as well as government business grants etc. right from the beginning.
Some of the government grants for small business and privately held incubators and accelerators do not just offer money, but also provide businesses with support in technology, mentoring and finding new markets. So, having the right small business grant fund by your side at the threshold of your business can be a better option than a later stage funding in many cases.
Luckily, there are tens of grants available in the UK to start a and grow a small business and the list includes various kinds, i.e. business grants for women, small business recovery grants, first time business grants, SME grants, business startup grants for unemployed, government grants for startups, small business technology grant, micro business grants, local business grants, training grants for small businesses, startup incubator programs, small business loans for people of determination and a lot more.
However, not everyone may qualify for all loans and grants, but If you’re really enthusiastic to start your own business, and have a couple of really valuable small business ideas, you can surely generate huge funding for faster growth.
This article will discuss a big list of small business and startup loans and grants available in the UK with a brief description, so you can have a quick idea about what kind of business funding you can avail.
UK Government Grants for Small Business & Startups
1- UK Government Startup Loans: for people looking to start or grow a business. Available in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
2- Start-up Loans: a UK Government-funded scheme focused on funding valuable startup ideas.
3- The Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) is a well-established process to connect public sector challenges with innovative ideas from industry, supporting companies to generate economic growth and enabling improvement in achieving government objectives.
4- Business is Great Britain; UK Government’s funding and support for new ideas.
5- Kent and Medway Business Fund: 0% loans between £50,000 and £500,000 for small and medium sized businesses in Kent.
6- Wandsworth Business Loan Fund: a funding option for borough’s small and medium-sized businesses, especially those turned down by mainstream providers such as banks.
7- Winchester Business Grants: a one-off grant to help with the start-up or development of micro-businesses in the Winchester District.
8- Better Business Finance brings a wide range of finance providers across Britain into one place.
Government grants are though the highly trusted and the most feasible option for any small business entrepreneur, not all small businesses may qualify for these. As a startup or small business owner, you must not just rely on government grants and also look for low cost small business or personal loans that can aid your business growth.
This can be handy also in the situations when at times you need funding in urgency and a government grant will take its time. So, in parallel you can go for another option. Here are some of the most trusted and highly valuable resources and loan options for all your brilliant small business ideas.
Other Small Business Loans & Grants
1- Funding Circle: Simple and affordable loans for most small businesses.
2- British Business Bank: works with over 80 finance partners to unlock finance for small businesses.
3- Creative England: supports digital creative companies through the provision of interest-free business loans
4- Fredericks Foundation: runs a microloan fund for people who are starting or expanding businesses
5- South West Investment Group: a not-for-profit organisation supporting small and medium sized businesses.
6- UK Life Sciences: list of funding opportunities for science, engineering and manufacturing activities available to the health life sciences industry including bio-pharmaceuticals; medical biotechnology; or medical technologies (devices and diagnostics).
7- Growth Resourcing Associates Ltd: an interactive grant research and a confidential advisory service to those companies who may wish to seek supplementary UK Government grants and/or other funding assistance for their qualifying investment projects.
8- GRANTfinder: a grants and policy database and includes details in excess of 8,000 funding opportunities.
9- SocialFinance.org.uk: a non-profit in partnership with the government, the social sector and the financial community to find better ways of tackling social problems in the UK and beyond.
10- FundMap: navigator for grants and funding available to businesses in the UK technology sector.
I hope this list helps you build better business in the UK. The list will be updated frequently, as we find some more resources.