Grants and funding
We have put together some links to information about a variety of sources for financial support, whatever your business stage or needs. This list is not exhaustive: please contact the Business Support team if you are unable to find suitable sources as we may be able to signpost you to alternative funds or advice.
Funding for start-up businesses
BIPC Jumpstart is a grants and support programme for start-up businesses delivered by the Business & IP Centre Cambridgeshire.
Start-Up Loans provide Government-backed personal loans for business purposes. They are available to individuals over the age of 18 who are eligible to start a business in the UK. Generally, loans of up to £25,000 are available at a fixed rate of interest and are repayable over 1 to 5 years.
Delivery partners
Delivery partners for the loans in the East of England are listed below. In addition to helping applicants prepare their business plan and cash flow forecast, the delivery partners are responsible for assessing final loan applications and providing ongoing mentoring support to successful applicants.
General business grants and loans
Better Business Finance provides impartial information and support to businesses and entrepreneurs looking to develop and grow including a searchable database of business finance providers.
Co-operative & Community Finance exclusively serves the co-operative and social enterprise sector, and for over 45 years has supported hundreds of businesses ranging from small community‑run enterprises to large award‑winning organisations through the provision of accessible.
The British Business Bank’s Finance Hub offers independent information on finance options for scale-up, high growth and potential high growth businesses. It also provides information and advice to help companies to get investor ready.
The East of England Regional Growth Loan Scheme, supported by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, are available to established businesses based within the East of England. The schemes help support eligible businesses that can show strong growth potential and have a medium to long-term funding requirement to deliver that growth. Funds available range from £50,000 up to £500,000 and The FSE Group is an accredited delivery partner for the Growth Guarantee Scheme.
Find a grant is a service that allows you to search government grants. You can use this service to access government grant funding, search and filter to find a grant that matches your needs, find out if you are eligible to apply for a grant and find out how to apply for a grant.
Funding Circle has worked with the British Business Bank since 2013, supporting thousands of businesses as one of the largest providers of Government-backed loans including through the Growth Guarantee Scheme.
The Government provides an in-depth online database of information about grants, loans and other financial assistance available to businesses in the UK.
GrantFinder is the leading funding database in the UK covering local, national, and international sources of funding.
The Growth Guarantee Scheme from the British Business Bank offers access to finance for UK-based smaller businesses looking to invest and grow.
The scheme is available through accredited lenders, offering a wide range of products including:
- term loans
- overdrafts
- asset finance
- invoice finance
- asset-based lending
There are a number of funding programmes available to support housing-led developments through a partnership with Homes England.
The Improving the High Street grant, funded by UK Shared Prosperity Fund, offers grants of between £5,000 and £20,000 to South Cambridgeshire businesses, charities, community groups and Parish Councils to support projects that boost the heart of communities across the district.
Let’s Do Business Finance is a Responsible Finance provider and a leading provider of business advice, business loans, access to other finance, training, and business events across the South East and East of England.
Support for creative businesses
Creative UK offers loans to small and medium-sized creative, digital businesses at competitive rates to finance business growth.
The Arts Council's National Lottery Project Grants focuses on supporting arts, libraries and museum projects.
Research and development grants
UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) offers funding and support across all academic disciplines and industrial areas from the medical and biological sciences to astronomy, physics, chemistry and engineering, social sciences, economics, environmental sciences, and the arts and humanities.
Grants to improve energy efficiency and save money
Our Climate Emergency Toolkit pages have lots of advice and guidance to help businesses, communities and individuals reduce their carbon emissions and reduce waste. There is also information about available grants, funding and incentives.
Community Energy England lists details of a wide range of funding opportunities relevant to community energy organisations.
The UKRI Challenge Fund’s clean growth challenges are maximising the advantages from a global shift to clean growth. They are doing this by supporting the development, manufacture and use of low-carbon technologies, systems and services.
The Low Carbon Innovation Fund (LCIF) provides equity finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the East of England that are contributing to the low carbon economy.
The Workplace Charging Scheme is a voucher-based scheme designed to provide eligible applicants with support towards the upfront costs of the purchase and installation of EV charge points. The contribution is limited to 75% of purchase and installation costs. It covers up to a maximum of £350 for each socket, and up to a maximum of 40 sockets across all sites, for each applicant.