Funding and grants
Business grants
Grants to grow your business
Our business grants can help you cover some of the costs of a new project or idea. From small grants of a few thousand pounds to much larger sums, we can offer a range of support for suitable projects. Find out more about the different types of grants available and how they work.
Funding for businesses affected by coronavirus
If your business is affected by the coronavirus outbreak, you can find up-to-date information on grants and sources of finance on the Find Business Support website.
How do grants work?
Grants are a bit different to other types of funding like loans or investments. They:
- Are tied to a specific goal or project and can only be used for this purpose
- Can only be used to fund a percentage of a project, not the whole thing
- Don’t need to be paid back to the lender
- Are paid retrospectively – you pay your costs upfront, and then claim the grant money back later
Do I qualify for a grant?
The type of grant you can apply for generally depends on your business sector, size and location, as well as the type of project you’ll be using it for. Most grants available in Scotland support projects that:
- Will bring social or economic benefits, like creating jobs
- Are collaborative projects leading to new technology or ideas
- Focus on research and development
Our grants
We have lots of different grants for different kinds of projects and businesses. Explore our most popular grants below or get in touch to discuss how we can help.
Research and Development grants
Business grants from £100,000. Available to help projects that will lead to innovative new products, processes and services.
SMART: SCOTLAND
Business grants from £75,000. Available to small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to help you prove your idea, product or service will work.
Regional Selective Assistance
Business grants from £20,000. Available to help projects that will create or protect jobs in Scotland.
Collaborative Innovation Fund
Grants from £25,000. Available to SMEs in the food and drink sector to work on collaborative, innovative projects. Grants of £5,000 may be available to support feasibility studies.
Funding from other bodies
We have a dedicated Funding Information & Support Service team to help support innovative businesses apply for grant funding from other organisations. They can help identify funding for your R&D projects and review drafts of your applications to increase your chances of success.
Email FISS@scotent.co.uk for more details.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) innovation funding calls
Find innovation funding calls focused on tackling coronavirus (COVID-19), including grants, prizes, accelerators, hackathons and collaboration platforms.
European funding
We support Scottish companies to find project partners and apply for European funding.
Innovate UK
We support Scottish companies through our Funding Information & Support Service to apply for Innovate UK funding.
Digital Development Loan
If you want to improve your digital capabilities and processes in areas such as cyber security, data analytics, software engineering and digital skills development, the Scottish Government provides interest free loans to help.
Contact our business grants team
Can't find what you're looking for? Get in touch to find out more about our grants and find the right option for your business.