Universal Business Support
Cool Ventures is the first point of contact for the service in B&NES, delivering advice to new entrepreneurs, start-up and established small medium enterprise (SME) businesses, and guiding them towards the most appropriate sources of specialist local advice, and funding and support within the Universal Business Support programme (and elsewhere).
Green Business Grants
A Green Business Grant is designed to help small medium enterprises (SMEs) purchase and install new products and equipment that reduce your greenhouse gas emissions, cut your utility costs, and improve your energy efficiency. Applications must help the business to achieve a measurable reduction in greenhouse gas emissions when compared to your current baseline emissions. A total of £2million will be made available up to March 2025.
Business Growth & Adaptions Grant
Business Growth & Adaptions Grant is designed to help small medium enterprises (SMEs) purchase and implement new products and equipment, in doing so, increase production of physical, tangible products to drive business growth and expansion. Applications must help businesses either increase or improve production or start production, including bringing production in-house. Applications for the fourth round are now closed.
Intellectual Property
All businesses own or use Intellectual Property (IP) that needs to be protected. IP can include your business name, logo, website, technical innovation, software, images, and the look or design of your products. At the West of England Growth Hub, they provide small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) with the expert help and guidance they need to safeguard their IP. Application for grants will reopen again this Summer.
Carbon Surveys
West of England Growth Hub offer free, impartial support for small and medium sized enterprises to find ways to reduce their greenhouse gas emission and energy costs through a Carbon Survey. This will include understanding your current energy use, discovering ways to reduce your emissions and energy bills, work out how to make your staff more comfortable, identify the quick wins, learn about new technologies and access funding to realise savings.
Migrant Business Support
If you’re a non-EU migrant or refugee with the right to live and work in the UK, but you don’t have a UK, EU or Swiss passport, the Migrant Business Support programme can give you free one-to-one business advice to help you become self-employed, start a business or learn new skills. The programme will include training courses (product development, eCommerce, marketing, social media, Human Resources, customer acquisition, customer retention and digital), a mentor to discuss your ideas and development with, one-to-one coaching, help in writing a business plan and online training to improve your skills.
Create Growth
The Create Growth Programme builds on the success of the Creative Scale Up Pilot (2019-2022) and aims to support high-growth creative businesses to scale and become investment ready through a targeted business support package. The programme consists of three complementary strands including a bespoke business support programme delivered by Watershed, Access to a £7m finance fund delivered by Innovate UK and Investor outreach activities. The West of England Growth Hub are looking for companies who are exploring new growth opportunities, which can include reaching new customers, developing, or taking to market a new product or service and expanding your business to new markets, including internationally. You can now apply for the Create Growth Programme's second cohort starting in March 2024 by sending in your application by 12pm on December 1st.
West of England Rural Fund
West of England Rural Fund is available to small and micro businesses based in a West of England rural area, to purchase new or improve existing assets. You can apply for a grant of between £5k – £20k to help your rural business purchase or develop new products and facilities that will be of wider benefit to the local economy. This includes farm businesses looking to diversify income streams. The grant will cover up to 80% of the eligible costs of your project. All eligible project costs must be spent before the 31 March 2025. The closing date for applications is Friday 25 August 2023 (midday). The West of England Rural Fund is funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Grow your business in the low carbon sector
Grow your business in the low carbon sector is a fully funded programme helping you to increase your business opportunities and overcome commercial and regulatory barriers preventing you from growing your business. The programme can provide one-to-one support in digital marketing, lean business process development, selling and marketing, innovation in export, intellectual property, innovation, and design and how to access and apply doe innovation and R&D grants. Kick-start your growth by contacting Business West to arrange a one-to-one meeting by calling 01275 370997.
START
START is a fully funded programme designed to give you the fundamentals on how to run a business and helping you to make your tech based business a reality. This programme is aimed at those with an idea for a technology based business but would like to develop it further. This includes 28 hours of learning worth £1400, shared networks and access to investment opportunities, earning a fully funded place in their incubation programmes and support from 4 West of England Universities. To get started fill in an interest form.