Business Grants in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland offers unique business funding opportunities through Invest NI, local councils, and cross-border programmes with the Republic of Ireland. Belfast and other NI businesses can access support for innovation, exports, and growth.
Invest NI Funding
Invest Northern Ireland is the main business development agency for NI. They provide grants, loans, and support for businesses looking to grow, innovate, or export. Their programmes cover R&D, capital investment, skills development, and market entry.
Local Council Support
Northern Ireland's 11 councils offer their own business support programmes. Belfast City Council, Derry City and Strabane, and other councils run grant schemes for local businesses, particularly SMEs and startups.
Cross-Border Programmes
NI businesses can also access cross-border funding programmes with the Republic of Ireland and EU-funded initiatives. InterTradeIreland supports cross-border trade and innovation projects.
Northern Ireland Business Grants
225 grants found
Water4All 2026 call: sustainable water management
Funding for UK-based researchers to collaborate with international partners and submit joint applications for sustainable water management research.
Future Data Services: Joining up the data service workforce
Apply for Future Data Services funding to bring together communities of practitioners to exchange knowledge, improve working practices and deliver better data services for researchers.
Biodiversa+ 2026 to 2027: novel ecosystems (BiodivFuture)
Allows UK-based researchers to collaborate with international partners and submit joint applications to the Biodiversa+ 2026 to 2027 joint funding opportunity for novel ecosystems.
Guidelines for Health Applications
Funding for UK projects focussed on healthcare delivery that directly benefit UK residents with limited access to essential healthcare. Accepts applications for permanent focus areas addressing acute conditions, as well as temporary focus areas covering physical and mental health.
Philip Henman Trust Grant
Grants for major UK-based charities concerned with long-term overseas development requiring partnership funding for projects lasting between three and five years.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme
The Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) supports the decarbonisation of homes and small and medium non-domestic buildings in England and Wales. The scheme provides upfront capital grants of up to £7,500 to encourage property owners to replace existing fossil fuel heating with more efficient, low carbon heating systems including heat pumps and biomass boilers.
Youth Jobs Grant
The Youth Jobs Grant is part of the Youth Guarantee and provides financial support to employers in Great Britain to encourage the recruitment and training of young people aged 18-24 who are on Universal Credit and unemployed for 6 months.
Tree Health Pilot
The Tree Health Pilot (THP) scheme is testing different ways of slowing the spread of pests and diseases affecting trees in England. It supports owners and managers of trees in woodland or trees outside woodland to deal with tree health issues.
Community and Environment Fund (CEF) and Business and Local Economy Fund (BLEF)
This funding programme provides grants to local communities and economies that are disrupted by the construction of Phase One and Phase 2a of HS2 between London and Crewe.
International Travel Award Scheme for the Biological Sciences
Funding to visit international partners, initiate collaborations, prepare joint funding proposals, visit overseas facilities, or attend European consortia-building events for stays of up to one month.
Engineering Biology Programme: mission hubs
Apply for funding to pursue a flagship applied research and innovation programme aimed at harnessing engineering biology to address major industrial and societal challenges through a mission focus. Your programme must be co-developed and co-delivered with industry and demonstrate significant potential to deliver the expected outcomes.
Funding opportunity: Pre-announcement: Engineering Biology Programme: foundational technology hubs
Apply for funding to deliver a flagship interdisciplinary research programme that develops foundational engineering biology technologies, platforms and capabilities. Projects must tackle key bottlenecks in the design-build-test-learn cycle, to make engineering biology faster, more predictable and scalable, accelerating innovation and adoption across sectors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about business grants in Northern Ireland