Eligibility
- Must demonstrate a need for public funding, ability to cover interest payments, and capacity to repay the loan.
Project Size
- Loans range between £100,000 and £2 million.
Accessibility and Inclusion
- Open to all, with encouragement for applications from under-represented communities and regions.
- Support available for those with disabilities or long-term conditions.
Proposal Requirements
- Clearly expressed and compelling innovative idea.
- Robust business plan with market potential evidence.
- Skilled team to successfully complete the project.
- Awareness and management plans for risks.
- Practical financial plans with good value for money and repayment ability.
- Justification for funding necessity.
- Clear plan for significant economic impact and ROI post-project.
Project Activities
- Can include prototyping, demonstrating, piloting, testing, validation in real-life conditions.
Evaluation Criteria
- Quality of the project proposal and suitability of the business to take on a loan.
Portfolio Approach
- Aiming for a variety of projects across different technologies and markets, particularly those aligning with future economy areas in the Innovate UK plan.
Specific Themes
- Projects should focus on areas like Net Zero (energy, industrial processes, emissions), Health and Wellbeing (tackling ill health, enhancing wellbeing, diet), and Next Generation Digital Technologies.
Research Categories
- Only funding experimental development projects.
Exclusions
- Not providing grant funding.
- Won't fund commercial activities like marketing and sales.
- Can't fund projects dependent on export performance or domestic inputs usage.
Contact Information
- Innovate UK can be contacted for guidance via email or at 0300 321 4357.
Key Takeaways
- This is an opportunity for SMEs with late-stage innovative R&D projects that have strong commercial potential and can significantly improve the UK economy.
- The loan aims to help businesses overcome barriers to commercialisation.
- Applications should be well-prepared, demonstrating the innovation, business plan, team capability, risk management, financial planning, and potential economic impact.
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