Birmingham City Council is to manage and deliver this programme through the Working Neighbourhood Fund and in partnership with Business Link West Midlands. It offers Business Development Grants and up to 2 days impartial consultancy support to assist you in making an application. Financial Assistance provided by Birmingham City Council will include a number of business development grant options. more details can be found by clicking here or by contacting us at http://www.straightfinance.co.uk
Sc: http://www.straightfinance.co.uk
Monday, November 30, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Latest Grant Opportunities
Here is the latest update on grant and funding opportunities throughout the country. Information provided by http://www.j4b.co.uk
Last Chance For Enterprise Awards
SMEs across Cheshire only have a few more weeks left to enter an annual business competition.
Nominations for this year’s High Sheriff's Award for Enterprise must be made by 16 December.
Scottish Loan Fund Gets European Funding Boost
SMEs in the West of Scotland are set for a lending lifeline to help them kick-start the economic recovery.
The West of Scotland Loan Fund has received £6 million backing from the European Regional Development Fund as part of a £15 million plan to support up to 600 businesses over the next six years.
Women Of Worth Awards Open
Entries are being invited for a competition that looks to reward and recognise the East Midlands’ best female entrepreneurs.
The East Midlands Development Agency-backed Women of Worth Awards “celebrate the achievements of forward-thinking business women from across the region”.
New Round Of Commercialisation Funding
East Midlands-based innovators are invited to apply for funding worth up to £20,000 to help commercialise novel new technologies.
A new round of the East Midlands Technology: Pathfinder Grants programme has been launched, with SMEs and research organisations able to secure support to carry out market research into new products and processes.
If you would like further information please let me know. sc: http://www.straightfinance.co.uk
Last Chance For Enterprise Awards
SMEs across Cheshire only have a few more weeks left to enter an annual business competition.
Nominations for this year’s High Sheriff's Award for Enterprise must be made by 16 December.
Scottish Loan Fund Gets European Funding Boost
SMEs in the West of Scotland are set for a lending lifeline to help them kick-start the economic recovery.
The West of Scotland Loan Fund has received £6 million backing from the European Regional Development Fund as part of a £15 million plan to support up to 600 businesses over the next six years.
Women Of Worth Awards Open
Entries are being invited for a competition that looks to reward and recognise the East Midlands’ best female entrepreneurs.
The East Midlands Development Agency-backed Women of Worth Awards “celebrate the achievements of forward-thinking business women from across the region”.
New Round Of Commercialisation Funding
East Midlands-based innovators are invited to apply for funding worth up to £20,000 to help commercialise novel new technologies.
A new round of the East Midlands Technology: Pathfinder Grants programme has been launched, with SMEs and research organisations able to secure support to carry out market research into new products and processes.
If you would like further information please let me know. sc: http://www.straightfinance.co.uk
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
New Bio-Energy Infrastructure Grants
Farmers, foresters and local authorities can from today apply for £1.5 million grants to help develop the supply of biomass, such as wood chips or energy crops like miscanthus, in England through round three of the Bio-energy Infrastructure Scheme.
The Scheme provides grants to help the development of the supply chain required to harvest, process, store and supply biomass to heat, combined heat and power, and electricity end-users. The scheme is restricted to projects based in England and is open to businesses, local authorities and charities.
For more details see the DECC press release: http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pn136/pn136.aspx
The Scheme provides grants to help the development of the supply chain required to harvest, process, store and supply biomass to heat, combined heat and power, and electricity end-users. The scheme is restricted to projects based in England and is open to businesses, local authorities and charities.
For more details see the DECC press release: http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pn136/pn136.aspx
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Grant Information Summary
More information on business grants and funding are listed below. This is the latest listing provided for us by J4B. This week we have information on grants helping SMEs in The North West to embrace sustainable innovation; a competition for film makers; help for redundant construction apprentices and a training scheme for managers and supervisors in Wales.
more information on these schemes can be found by contacting me at mparry@straightfinance.co.uk . Alternatively follow me on Twitter
New Scheme Helps North West Firms Go Green
More than £3 million is being made available to help North West of England-based SMEs embrace sustainable innovation.
The three-year Northwest Eco-Innovation Programme will encourage hundreds of businesses to exploit the growing market for environmentally-friendly products, processes and services.
Short Film Fund Looking For “Surprising Stories”
Aspiring filmmakers can win funding from a new competition to help them shoot short documentaries about things that are “good to know”.
Four winning entrants will each scoop £2,000 from the 4Docs scheme, an initiative run by the Channel 4 British Documentary (BRITDOC) Foundation.
Subsidy Scheme To Recruit Redundant Construction Apprentices
Construction companies are being urged to take advantage of a subsidy scheme to help them recruit redundant apprentices.
The Homes and Communities Agency has joined forces with Construction Skills to promote the sector skills council’s Apprenticeship Matching Service.
Training Fund For A Winning Welsh Workforce
The Welsh Assembly Government has launched a new £37 million training scheme for managers and team leaders.
Provided as part of the Workforce Development Programme, companies can claim subsidies for their staff to take part in a series of Leadership and Management Development Workshops.
Sc: http://www.j4b.co.uk http://www.straightfinance.co.uk
more information on these schemes can be found by contacting me at mparry@straightfinance.co.uk . Alternatively follow me on Twitter
New Scheme Helps North West Firms Go Green
More than £3 million is being made available to help North West of England-based SMEs embrace sustainable innovation.
The three-year Northwest Eco-Innovation Programme will encourage hundreds of businesses to exploit the growing market for environmentally-friendly products, processes and services.
Short Film Fund Looking For “Surprising Stories”
Aspiring filmmakers can win funding from a new competition to help them shoot short documentaries about things that are “good to know”.
Four winning entrants will each scoop £2,000 from the 4Docs scheme, an initiative run by the Channel 4 British Documentary (BRITDOC) Foundation.
Subsidy Scheme To Recruit Redundant Construction Apprentices
Construction companies are being urged to take advantage of a subsidy scheme to help them recruit redundant apprentices.
The Homes and Communities Agency has joined forces with Construction Skills to promote the sector skills council’s Apprenticeship Matching Service.
Training Fund For A Winning Welsh Workforce
The Welsh Assembly Government has launched a new £37 million training scheme for managers and team leaders.
Provided as part of the Workforce Development Programme, companies can claim subsidies for their staff to take part in a series of Leadership and Management Development Workshops.
Sc: http://www.j4b.co.uk http://www.straightfinance.co.uk
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Help for Automotive Manufacturers
My colleagues at the National B2B Centre have told me about this £3.5m support package for automotive suppliers in the West Midlands struggling during the economic downturn. Automotives Initiatives was launched by West Midlands Taskforce Chair and Regional Minister, Ian Austin.
The funding, which will come from Advantage West Midlands, will help struggling component manufacturers with up to £50,000 of specialist strategic consultancy to help with business consolidation, refinancing , new product introduction and restructuring.
The Automotive Response Programme will be delivered by the Manufacturing Advisory Service in partnership with Accelerate and will look to assist more than 120 companies, ranging from SMEs to tier 1s and even local car producers. It is anticipated that this dedicated support will safeguard up to 1000 jobs in the supply chain.
Sc: www.straightfinance.co.uk
The funding, which will come from Advantage West Midlands, will help struggling component manufacturers with up to £50,000 of specialist strategic consultancy to help with business consolidation, refinancing , new product introduction and restructuring.
The Automotive Response Programme will be delivered by the Manufacturing Advisory Service in partnership with Accelerate and will look to assist more than 120 companies, ranging from SMEs to tier 1s and even local car producers. It is anticipated that this dedicated support will safeguard up to 1000 jobs in the supply chain.
Sc: www.straightfinance.co.uk
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
NISPO Grants in Northern Ireland
The Invest Growth Proof of Concept Fund is funded by Invest NI and set up as a pre-commercial grant-awarding fund. The Fund helps individuals, start-ups, micro-enterprises and SMEs to establish the commercial potential of a concept resulting from in-house research and ideas. Grants are awarded to help beneficiaries establish the commercial potential of a concept and more fully develop and test their ideas. The £3m fund will run for five years. An important aspect of the scheme is the commercial and entrepreneurial support the recipients receive through E-Synergy. These elements include: business mentoring, IP and copyright protection and advice.
www.straightfinance.co.uk
www.straightfinance.co.uk
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Index Voucher Scheme
The ever-popular Index Voucher scheme has returned for SMEs in The West Midlands.
You may be interested to hear that the latest call for Innovation Vouchers has just been announced. If successful, these will provide you with £3,000 of assistance from a university in the West Midlands.
Further information is available at http://www.innovationvouchers-wm.com/
However to give you an idea, The Innovation Voucher Scheme awards West Midland SMEs a £3,000 voucher to purchase academic support for an innovation at any of the region's 13 universities. Here are some examples of the type of activity you could use the support to undertake
Sc: http://www.straightfinance.co.uk/
You may be interested to hear that the latest call for Innovation Vouchers has just been announced. If successful, these will provide you with £3,000 of assistance from a university in the West Midlands.
Further information is available at http://www.innovationvouchers-wm.com/
However to give you an idea, The Innovation Voucher Scheme awards West Midland SMEs a £3,000 voucher to purchase academic support for an innovation at any of the region's 13 universities. Here are some examples of the type of activity you could use the support to undertake
- innovation / technology audit.
new service delivery and customer interface.
new business model development.
tailored training in innovation management.
efficiency audits, process change supply chain management and logistics.
product and service testing and economic impact assessment.
product development.
business and leadership school.
Feasibility study.
Priority will be given to businesses in the following sectors
- Health and Medical Technologies
Environmental/Energy
New Materials
Digital Media
Transport
Construction
All small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) in the West Midlands area are eligible to apply for an Innovation Voucher.
Ineligible Activities include
- Achieving compliance with statutory regulations or legislation
Intellectual property protection
Standard training courses
Software purchases
Equipment purchases
Aid that would promote / subsidise the cost of exports
Internships for students of knowledge providers
Design and production of advertising materials
Sales and marketing activities this includes standard website design, development and search optimisation (the only exception would be the exploitation of new web technology for the region and/ or industry)
Advertising and promotional activities e.g. design of posters, leaflets etc.
Accreditations
Capital items
Travel costs
Continuation and existing projects with the knowledge providers
Legal advice
Business Link Consultation
All voucher winners are required to have a free consultation with Business Link under the requirements of Solutions for Business.
If you think this might be something that you might like to apply for – and why not, drop me an email to mparry@straightfinance.co.uk
Sc: http://www.straightfinance.co.uk/
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