Funding to Reignite Scotland’s COVID-19 Stricken High Growth Firms

Funding to Reignite Scotland’s COVID-19 Stricken High Growth Firms

The Early Stage Growth Challenge Fund is designed to support early-stage, high-growth, innovative Scottish companies that have been negatively affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The scheme is aimed at companies where COVID-19 has had a clear impact on revenue, working capital costs or access to equity investment, resulting in a cash shortfall, a diversion of resources away from growth activities or a delay in achievement of development or investor milestones.

Funding of between £50,000 and  £300,000 per company is on offer, paid in one payment. The funding is a combination of convertible loan and grant. A convertible loan is a type of loan funding that can either be repaid with the associated interest or converted into equity (meaning Scottish Enterprise would own shares in the company).

Applicants can use this funding for growth activities including:

Investment into innovation and R&D activities.

Activities focused on entering new markets, increasing market share, securing further market validation and development of a company’s products or services.

This fund is for small and micro companies working on unique products or services in new or niche markets. Applicants should be focused on innovation, research and development (R&D), and intellectual property, and might be working in promising sectors such as fintech, life sciences, space, green tech, digital and data, and artificial intelligence. Applicants should be based in Scotland but looking to compete, or already be competing, in international markets.

Applications open on 20 July 2020 and close on 31 July 2020 (17:00 BST).

More information about this funding opportunity and the application process is available on the GRANTfinder funding information platform. GRANTfinder provides up-to-the minute content, insight and analysis on funding news. To find out more about how GRANTfinder can keep you in the know, and subscription fees, contact us today.